Anime’s next major growth phase could extend well beyond traditional streaming, according to Media Partners Asia CEO Vivek Couto. His comments come as Jujutsu Kaisen emerges as one of the biggest drivers of anime viewing in Asia, helping MAPPA rise to the top of the regional studio rankings.
According to MPA’s The Anime Economy report, Jujutsu Kaisen ranked as the most-watched anime in seven of the eight Asian markets tracked during the first half of 2026. The franchise’s performance helped MAPPA’s share of regional anime viewing hours jump from 6.1% in the second half of 2025 to 17.3% in the first half of 2026.
Jujutsu Kaisen Drives MAPPA to the Top
MAPPA’s 17.3% share put it narrowly ahead of TMS Entertainment at 16.6%. Toei Animation followed with 13%, while titles associated with Aniplex accounted for 12% of the tracked viewing.
The figures highlight just how much a major franchise can influence a studio’s position in the streaming market. Jujutsu Kaisen has been produced by MAPPA across its anime seasons and film projects, with its latest season continuing to keep the franchise highly visible among international audiences.
The broader report also found that anime was the most widely reached genre on Asian premium streaming platforms between July 2025 and August 2026. Between 31% and 47% of users across the eight markets watched anime during a given month, compared with 26% to 34% for the average of the other genres. In Japan, anime’s monthly reach climbed as high as 59%.
Speaking about where the industry goes next, MPA CEO and Executive Director Vivek Couto said,
“The catalysts are streaming pushing deeper into new markets globally, theatrical events on the scale of ‘Infinity Castle’ becoming repeatable, and games and merchandise carrying franchises well beyond the screen.”
His comments were reported alongside MPA’s latest research by Variety and are also reflected in the Asia Video Industry Association’s report on the study.
Couto also argued that the industry’s biggest limitation is no longer audience demand.
“The constraint is capacity, not demand or capital,”
he said, pointing to the difficulty studios face in expanding production capabilities while handling some of the industry’s biggest franchises.
Streaming remains central to that growth. Netflix accounted for roughly half of tracked anime viewing across the eight Asian markets, while its Japanese anime viewing increased from 3.33 billion hours in the first half of 2023 to 4.64 billion hours in the first half of 2026.
MPA expects worldwide anime spending to grow by roughly 10% annually through 2030, with Asia outside Japan and North America among the major growth drivers. For MAPPA, meanwhile, Jujutsu Kaisen has already demonstrated how one successful franchise can dramatically reshape a studio’s position in the increasingly competitive global anime market.
| Date Aired (Start) | October 3, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Studio | MAPPA |
| Director | Sunghoo Park |
