The studio behind Demon Slayer has a new president, and he has a plan to take anime further into global markets than it has ever gone before. Nishimoto Shu, appointed president of Aniplex earlier this year, sat down with Variety for his first extended interview since taking the role, outlining his strategy for the Sony Music Entertainment Japan subsidiary.
Nishimoto joined Aniplex in 2009 on the Japan sales team, later moving to the international division before becoming president of Aniplex of America in 2017. He stepped into the top job when his predecessor, Atsuhiro Iwakami, was elevated to president of parent company Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
His years running the American operation shaped his view of where anime stands today. "Through those experiences, what I felt most strongly was that Japanese anime is truly being embraced by so many people around the world," he told Variety. "What was once a market supported primarily by a core group of passionate fans has now become part of broader pop culture, especially among younger generations."
The numbers back that up. Nishimoto places the total value of Japan's anime industry at around JPY4 trillion, approximately $25 billion, with more than half of that already generated by overseas markets. He expects that international share to keep growing. "We see our international business as an important growth driver," he said. "Even before the overseas market expanded to the scale we see today, Aniplex had been taking on many challenges together with our Japanese business partners and creators. That experience and network are major strengths for us."
Rather than overhauling what Aniplex produces, his strategy focuses on expanding how existing properties reach audiences. "We do not want to be satisfied with where we are today," he said. "Starting from each IP, we'll continue to consider the most appropriate forms of output for that IP, including theatrical releases, streaming, merchandising, games, live events, exhibitions, and other opportunities. By expanding the business areas in which each IP can thrive as much as possible, we hope to continue providing fans around the world with even richer and more diverse entertainment experiences."
Nishimoto also described what he sees as Aniplex's core production strength: a two-track approach that balances adaptations of established manga, novels and existing intellectual property against original works developed directly from creators' ideas. He called this a discipline the company has maintained consistently and intends to protect.
On artificial intelligence, Nishimoto said Aniplex is stepping carefully, though he did not detail specific policies in the interview. He framed the company's overall philosophy around protecting the qualities that make Japanese animation distinctive in the first place.
