Disney in the Western world, and worldwide to be fair, is known as the prime source of entertainment for kids and families everywhere.
It’s the source for many:
- Moments.
- Fun times.
And entertainment for many growing up during childhood.
Anime, on the other hand, which was inspired by Disney to a degree, is the 21st century version of Disney being that everyone watches it, knows about it, and digitally it has spread everywhere across the globe.
Anime is what Disney has failed to be in the 21st century if you ask me.
Is Disney more popular than anime in 2024?
That’s the ultimate question, and the answer may surprise some, but not so much myself.
Let’s get to it.
1. Anime vs Disney in the last 12 months (trends)
As we can see on the graph taken from Google Trends, anime is the blue line and Disney is the red line.
In the last 12 months, the trends of both anime and Disney are no doubt popular, but anime still takes the cake and even manages to eat it.
The data simply represents how anime is trending more than Disney as far as:
- Searches.
- Seeking out information.
And everything related to people seeking out related information on both of these topics.
Anime still wins here.
2. Anime vs Disney in the last 5 years (trends)
Looking at the data when you dial it back 5 years since 2024, you can still see that anime is ahead of Disney. BUT the difference is slightly smaller compared to the last 12 months 2023-2024.
Disney even had a BUMP back in 2019 that allowed it to get ahead of anime as far as trends in that day, week, month, or year.
But anime’s gradual increase dominates in the end and has been steadier than ever without any visible drops.
3. Anime vs Disney since 2004 (trends)
Surprisingly, when you look as far back as 2004 (when Google Trends began), Disney comes out the winner in this comparison.
It seems like Disney over the long haul is considered more popular, famous, and has trended higher on average compared to anime. But not by a lot.
You can also see when looking at the graph that Disney has been declining over the years by comparison, whereas anime (blue line)has been climbing over the years little by little.
The biggest climb can be seen in the last few years.
4. Anime vs Disney in the last 90 days (trends)
When comparing anime vs Disney in the last 90 days, we can clearly see that anime is dominating yet again, and by an even larger gap than earlier.
The more recent you dial back time with these Trends, the more anime is the clear winner in this so called “popularity” contest.
That being said, Disney isn’t exactly suffering by comparison and is in fact steady. It’s just not on the level of anime as far as growth between both mediums.
5. Anime vs Disney in the last 30 days (trends)
When you dial the dates back to the last 30 days instead, which would be July 2024 to August 2024, anime is still the winner and the gap is clear between both Disney and anime.
Again, Disney is still steady and rising without any major drops, but by comparison, it’s clear anime is the topic most sought after by people and is of course the “trending” topic between the two mediums.
The difference between Anime vs Disney by regions (2024):
As we can see straight away, anime is more popular in:
- South America.
- South East Asia.
- East Asia.
- North Africa.
- South Africa.
- Russia.
- Most of Europe.
- New Zealand.
Whereas Disney is more famous in these regions:
- North America.
- Canada.
- The UK.
- The Netherlands.
- Spain.
- Australia.
- Argentina.
- Sweden.
- Norway.
Why is anime more popular than Disney overall?
The reasons I’d say:
- Anime is less politically correct by comparison these days.
- Anime caters to a wide audience without politics.
- For everything you can imagine, there is an anime or manga for it.
- Anime is more creative.
- Disney has lost its identity and flair.
- More effort is put into creating great anime shows.
- Anime is one of the few mediums that haven’t been censored to death.
- You can watch various anime, even gay or lesbian anime, without it feeling patronising.
- People are SICK to death of pandering content that’s disingenuous.
- People want something genuine, which anime provides.
- Disney focuses less on creativity, and more on people pleasing and milking it.
While these can be considered personal reasons or even “bias”, when you look at it for what it is, it can’t be argued that Disney has become a shell of itself because of politics and disingenuous content.
Instead of making something great, they pander and play mental gymnastics, which ends up being too obvious once the product is finished and published (various films, etc).
Anime treats the viewers with respect and doesn’t assume they’re so entitled that they “need” to be pampered with nonsensical messages that will make them feel “included”.
Instead, anime creates content from a genuine place that makes it more relatable, something Disney once did, making anime the more favoured medium for people of all ages in 2024 and beyond.
SOURCE:
Last 90 Days Anime Vs Disney G Trends
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