Which Anime Genre Is The MOST Popular? The Results May Surprise You
In the spirit of anime statistics, let’s talk about which anime genre is the most popular.
I looked at multiple genres, like:
- Seinen.
- Shonen.
- Slice of life.
- Josei.
- Shoujo.
- Isekai.
- Mecha.
- Iyashikei.
- Rom com.
And so on, and only 5 made it to the “finals” of sorts (5 is the most you can compare at one time as well).
Those 5 are:
- Shonen.
- Isekai.
- Mecha.
- Shoujo.
- Seinen.
The results may surprise you.
Data is from a global perspective.
1. Comparing 5 anime genres’ past 30 days’ popularity (June – July 2023)
When comparing the last 30 days’ data, Isekai clearly takes the lead in anime genres. It’s so high none come close.
Surprisingly, shoujo is 2nd in the lead for this data set. Beating out Mecha, Seinen, and Shonen.
No one would have seen that coming giving the popularity of the others.
2. 5 anime genres compared past 90 days’ popularity (April – July 2023)
Even when moving the data to the past 90 days, we can see Isekai is in a league of its own, with nothing coming close to half, let alone a quarter.
Shoujo retakes the 2nd place with Mecha a little behind it and Seinen in front of Shonen which is surprising.
Shonen is the #1 genre, but not as of late, statistically, at least as far as searching for it online.
3. 5 anime genres compared past 12 months’ data (2022 – 2023)
When looking at the last 12 months of data, giving us a bigger time window, Isekai is still so far ahead that it’s not even a conversation.
Shoujo, Mecha, Seinen, and Shonen are about the same.
Only Isekai had major ebbs and flows in that time period.
4. 5 anime genres’ popularity from 2018 to 2023 (past 5 years)
Moving the dial back to the last 5 years from 2018, we can see a major shift between the graphs. The relative gaps between Isekai and the others is now a lot smaller.
Isekai is still in the lead, of course.
Shoujo is a lot higher relative to Isekai and even relative to Mecha, which is next in line (yellow line). Seinen and Shoujo’s gap is about the same.
It’s clear that looking at a bigger window makes all the difference. Also, not just Isekai but Shoujo had more ebbs and flows this time.
5. 5 anime genres’ popularity since 2004 (compared)
And finally, the relativity between the genres is even more drastic when you look at the data from 2004 till today.
It changed a lot.
According to Google’s massive amounts of data, Shoujo is now in the lead for popularity and trends.
Isekai is 2nd, which makes sense since it didn’t gain traction until after SAO and No Game No Life aired in the 2010s.
Mecha is next in line, with Seinen very close and Shonen still lagging behind, which should surprise everyone.
We are talking about WHAT people are interested in when searching on the internet, after all, as opposed to sales data by itself (which Shonen wins).
Shoujo’s ebbs and flows are even more obvious when using the “from 2004” data.
Other interesting data:
Top 5 countries interested in Mecha since 2004:
- Argentina.
- Spain.
- Brazil.
- Venezuela.
- United States.
Top 5 countries interested in Isekai since 2004:
- Thailand.
- Indonesia.
- Hungary
- Vietnam.
- Turkey.
Top 5 countries interested in Seinen since 2004:
- Germany.
- Austria.
- Switzerland
- The Netherlands.
- Denmark.
Top 5 countries interested in Shoujo since 2004:
- Russia.
- Ukraine.
- Vietnam
- Singapore.
- Malaysia.
Top 5 countries interested in Shonen since 2004:
- Japan.
- France.
- Italy
- United States.
- Belgium.
Mecha map:
Isekai map:
Seinen map:
Shoujo map:
Shonen map:
And the winner is Isekai overall, with Shoujo winning the “since 2004” stats
SOURCE: Google Trends
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