Protected to Death

Anime hit a record $25.1 billion in 2024, 56% of it earned overseas, from the same foreign audience it keeps issuing takedowns against. Barely $3 billion of that is production. The rest is merchandise sold to fans it already has, and people can only buy so many figurines. BookTok tripled book sales in two years by letting strangers show the receipts. Anime chose the opposite, its animators earn below the poverty line, and it shipped 34 isekai last year. Here are all the receipts.

What Is Isekai? Another-World Stories Explained

Isekai means “another world,” but the portal is only the beginning. Learn how transportation, reincarnation, summoning, reverse isekai, light novels, anime adaptation, and real worldbuilding fit together.