by Animation is the catalyst that drives the company’s growth. Toho’s “Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Five-Pointed Star,” released this year, has exceeded 15 billion yen in box office revenue. Toho’s “Haikyu!! The Movie: Battle at the Dump” exceeded 11 billion yen. Shochiku’s ” Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM ” has earned nearly 5 billion yen.
When discussing the landscape of theatrical anime in 2024, one cannot overlook the unique success of ‘Look Back.’ Released on June 28th, this film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original work, the author of the popular comic ‘Chainsaw Man,’ has surpassed the 1 billion yen mark in box office revenue. Despite not being an anime adaptation of a popular series, ‘Look Back’ has managed to captivate audiences, setting it apart from works that rely on the popularity of specific characters.
The content has a robust authorial character. Avex distributes this film. Until now, Avex has had strengths in works aimed at women, such as “Mr. Osomatsu the Movie” and “KING OF PRISM Shiny Seven Stars.” The hit of “Look Back” seems to have opened new ground. The anime and video business sales for the fiscal year ending March 2024 increased 5.7% from the previous fiscal year to 16.1 billion yen. Avex’s live-action film “Mr. Osomatsu,” released in March 2022, exceeded 1.6 billion yen in box office revenue.
In the fiscal year ending March 2024, non-package sales, which provide content to video distribution services, etc., increased 1.2 times, showing favorable results. Avex restructured its organization in August 2023. Avex Pictures, which oversees the anime and video business, was positioned as an intermediate holding company. By delegating authority, it is possible to speed up decision-making and optimize budget allocation. A new system for IP creation has been established.
The TV anime Tengoku Daimakyou, which began airing in April 2023, ranked first in overseas anime rankings. With the success of “Tengoku Daimakyou” and “Look Back,” Avex can be seen as broadening its target audience. “Look Back” overturned the conventional wisdom of hit manga and can also be said to have changed the traditional understanding of distributing manga and anime.
This work was published in Shonen Jump + and was made available for free in July 2021. It is unusual for a work of over 140 pages to be available for free until the end. From a business perspective, it is expected to encourage people to pay after the story’s climax.
However, because they did not do so, the work gained a reputation through word of mouth, and readers flocked to it. It was trending on Twitter (now X) for a long time. It was made into a comic in September 2021 and a movie in June 2024. There are few cases of a film based on a manga released for free exceeding 1 billion yen in box office revenue.
Traditionally, popular magazines and other media serializations were adapted into anime and movies as a single package. However, ‘Look Back’ has excelled in content and disrupted this established system. Its unique success could potentially bring about significant changes in the environment surrounding original works, anime, and movies, paving the way for further advancements in the anime industry.
