Anime and Manga Fandom - History of The Fandom

History of The Fandom

See also: History of anime and Manga outside Japan

Although there have always been those with an interest in anime, the fandom as a community started in the 1970s. One early instance of fans uniting themselves as a fandom came with the anime Space Battleship Yamato; when it stopped airing on Japanese television, the fans banded together to get it back on the air.

In Japan, anime and manga are referred to collectively as the content industry: anime, video games, manga, and other related merchandise are different types of media focused around the same content.

However, the manga market in Japan is beginning to decline. In 2007, the manga industry showed a 4% decrease in sales from the previous year, its fifth consecutive year of decline. Japanese and American researchers have proposed that this may be due to the decrease in the young population in Japan and a lack of interest in reading. The manga critic and translator Matt Thorn stated that there was a growing dissatisfaction with the lack of originality found in many manga. Al Kahn, CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, stated that "Manga is a problem because we are in a culture that is not a reading culture" and that "Manga is dying in Japan." Liza Coppola, vice president of Viz Media, said that the widespread availability of cell phones and ability to view anime and manga on cell phones is likely the cause of decline in demand for anime and manga.