Manga and Anime Are you aiming for Saudi Arabia?
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August 2, 18:21
Japanese manga and anime are gaining popularity all over the world.
As the business in Europe, America and China is maturing, where is the next market?
Saudi Arabia, one of the world's leading oil-producing countries, is a hot topic for Japanese companies.
Locally, Japanese companies are now taking on the challenge of new businesses one after another.
(Takashi Niino, Director of Political and Economic International Programs, Misato Yasui, Reporter of Economics Department)
Japan's popular works gathered Anime event was a great success
Jeddah, a city in western Saudi Arabia.
For about two months from May, Saudi Arabia held the largest-ever Japanese anime event "Anime Village".
12 popular works such as "Mobile Suit Gundam", "Kimetsu no Yaiba", and "Attack on Titan" are gathered on a site of 10,000 square meters.
There were model exhibits and product sales, attractions using VR, and live performances of anime songs.
Tickets were sold out every day, and hundreds of thousands of people attended.
In Saudi Arabia, entertainment such as movies has been restricted for many years under the rule based on the strict interpretation of Islam. I'm in.
In particular, Japanese animation is very popular among adults and children alike, and among the visitors there was a woman who learned Japanese because of animation.
A woman who studied Japanese:
"My favorite work is 'NARUTO.' I also like anime, and I'm very interested in Japanese culture."
Saudi Arabia's entertainment industry market is expected to be around 3 billion yen in 2020, but it is forecast to exceed 140 billion yen by 2030.
Why a music company in Saudi Arabia?
This anime event was produced by the major music company Avex.
In the midst of a significant decline in sales due to the cancellation of music live performances due to the corona crisis, animation was set as one of the pillars of management in order to break away from the music-only business.
It was three years ago that it became a foothold for advancing into Saudi Arabia.
At the National Day event, she was entrusted with a fireworks and performance show.
Until now, the mainstream of overseas expansion of Japanese animation has been local broadcasting and distribution, but this company will use the planning ability and customer attraction cultivated through events such as live performances as weapons to develop new businesses such as the development of amusement facilities. I want to create.
Executive Officer Takahashi "The good thing about
anime
is that you can enjoy it in 360 degrees, not only in the video part, but also in hands-on events and goods purchases. It has tremendous power as content."
I would like to continue to act as a bridge between Saudi Arabia and Japan and expand anime events in other cities.”
Mascot rushes to Saudi Arabia
Triggered by this event, companies engaged in the content business in Japan are also raising expectations for future growth.
"Sanrio", which handles characters such as "Hello Kitty", has decided to send a mascot to the site and hold a show in response to the success of the animation event.
It will be the first time for Kitty to perform a show in Saudi Arabia.
Saito, Managing Executive Officer
"It's difficult to hold an event that collects a lot of works just by your own company. In order to raise the level of the entire Japanese content industry, we will use the platform of anime events to create entertainment that has never existed before. We want to provide
Saudi Arabia's "domestic content" Japanese companies also cooperate
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is also focusing on the production of "domestic" content, which has been almost unheard of until now, and there are a series of moves to collaborate with Japanese companies.
The animated film "The Journey" is set in the ancient civilization of Saudi Arabia.
It was produced jointly by the local animation production company Manga Productions and the animators of Japan's Toei Animation.
Manga artist development support
In March this year, Japanese production companies cooperated to hold a classroom in Riyadh, the capital, to train manga artists.
The teachers are invited from Japan.
Over the course of two months, the participants learned about character design, frame layout, story composition, and more.
And finally, I made an 8-page manga by myself.
Students with high scores plan to do internships in Japan within this year, and in the future aim to make their debut in a manga magazine published in Saudi Arabia.
The Japanese production company that cooperated with the manga class anticipates that the need to learn the know-how of the Japanese entertainment industry will continue to grow in Saudi Arabia, where the development of human resources involved in animation and manga is progressing rapidly.
President Tetsuya Koga
: “I want to establish a trend as soon as possible, like in Japan, where there is an original manga, an animation, and a movie. The aim is to expand the industry and create employment for young people. We also plan to start a training course for voice actors in Arabic.They respect Japan and are highly motivated to learn, so I want to contribute to the growth of this country."
Japanese anime and manga production sites also face the problem of labor shortages.
This company is working on human resource development in Saudi Arabia with a view to having them work together in Japan in the future.
What are your expectations for the Saudi market?
Japan, which aims to develop new markets, and Saudi Arabia, which wants to promote the entertainment industry.
Mr. Masaru Nishiura, who is in charge of the Middle East at JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization), which supports the expansion of Japanese companies, says that Saudi Arabia is a market that is expected to grow more and more, and that it has a high affinity with Japan. point out.
Chief Manager Nishiura
“On TV, old Japanese robot animations are being broadcast, and there are many latent fans. People tend to sympathize with Japanese stories that are rich or a little special.As the ban on entertainment has been lifted, there is a growing need to get in touch with the latest things and experience the real thing.Holding events, selling goods, human resources There are a wide variety of business opportunities, such as training.Many companies hesitate to enter the market due to differences in religion and business customs, but I think it is a promising market with a pro-Japan blue ocean.”
All Japanese companies that have expanded into Saudi Arabia were surprised at the growth of the entertainment industry and the enthusiasm of the people, saying, "The culture has completely changed from a few years ago."
What kind of growth will Japanese entertainment achieve locally?
I can't take my eyes off it.
Takashi Niino ,
Director of Politics, Economics and International Programs Department
Joined in 2011
After working at the Kyoto Bureau and the Metropolitan Area Bureau, he will be in charge of economic programs from 2021
Economic Department Reporter
Misato Yasui Joined
in 2014
After working at the Sendai and Nagasaki stations, he was in charge of the distribution industry, etc.