{"id":55789,"date":"2026-01-15T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=55789"},"modified":"2026-01-15T18:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T09:33:14","slug":"more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"More sequels, and even more remakes of 90s and 00s hits. Anime industry\u00a0research report predicts eight major trends for 2026\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bushiroad\u2019s Anime Data Insights Lab recently published its \u201c2026 Anime Industry Trend Forecast,\u201d outlining eight major trends it predicts will dominate the anime market throughout the next year (and in some cases, the following couple of years). The projections are based on viewership pattern analysis, as well as insights from the business and marketing side of anime production. As reported by GameBiz,<\/a> the study was presented by entertainment data analyst Keisuke Yutsudo and Bushiroad\u2019s anime and game producer Yusuke Onuki. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Red<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From a data analysis perspective, Yutsudo identifies four key trends likely to emerge in 2026, the first of which is an increase in anime titles that encourage discussion and fan theories. In 2025, anime that got fans to gather and speculate on social media with each episode (think Takopi’s Original Sin and Gundam GquuuuuuX in Japan) achieved much higher long-term viewer retention. This effect allows publishers to sustain viewership without heavy advertising, which is why we might be seeing more such titles in 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next one doesn\u2019t come as a big surprise, but the study anticipates a continued increase in remakes, particularly of 90s and early 00s anime. This is directly related to anime fans who are now in their 30s and 40s having increased purchasing power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Additionally,\u00a0the data points to changes in how anime gains attention in\u00a0the following year, with music and shorts\/reels becoming an increasingly frequent entry point for new fans (Chainsaw Man’s Reze dance comes to mind<\/a>).\u00a0Rather than\u00a0opening and ending\u00a0themes becoming popular after an anime succeeds, songs and\u00a0short\u00a0clips\u00a0are now spreading first on platforms such as TikTok or YouTube, leading new viewers to discover the\u00a0source material.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, Yutsudo suggests that more anime titles will see growth later in their broadcast run rather than at premiere. In 2025, several titles with weak early viewership went on to gain popularity through streaming platform releases, viral clips, or external events such as theatrical screenings. The report predicts more of these kinds of late bloomers to emerge in 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next four trends come from the production side of things, with Yusuke Onuki predicting a continued increase in sequels and, once again, remakes. He explains that as more companies enter the anime industry, competition for proven IPs is intensifying. Since businesses tend to greenlight productions based on measurable performance (such as the popularity of existing source material), works with track records are more likely to be adapted than originals. While Tokyo Godfathers and Lain producer Taro Maki expressed much dissatisfaction<\/a> over this tendency of the anime industry, the trend is likely to persist for several years, according to the study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another forecast suggests that non-fiction content will become bigger competition for anime in 2026. Onuki notes that real-world events, online controversies, and reality-based entertainment now increasingly compete for peoples\u2019 attention, which means that anime must contend not only with other fictional works, but also with rapidly updating real-world content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also addresses claims of \u201cyounger audiences moving away from anime.\u201d Onuki argues that this narrative may gain traction, but that it does not necessarily reflect what’s actually happening. Instead, he attributes recent declines in anime viewership (within Japan) to genre saturation, as well as the industry\u2019s growing focus on overseas markets, where revenue from streaming platforms often accounts for the majority of production costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the study highlights changes in marketing methods in the anime industry. Promotional materials are expected to increasingly rely on short and high-impact clips that showcase dramatic scenes of an anime early on. According to Onuki, this approach is a consequence of shrinking attention spans and the need to capture interest quickly, even at the risk of showing spoilers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Anime studio bankruptcies and closures continue to rise for third consecutive year in Japan\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western audiences growing tired of \u201cformulaic\u201d Disney titles is what paved the way for Japanese anime, Toei Animation veterans say\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bushiroad\u2019s Anime Data Insights Lab predicts eight major trends that will likely effect the anime industry in the following year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":55794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,65],"tags":[73,17],"class_list":["post-55789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nongaming-news","tag-anime","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nMore sequels, and even more remakes of 90s and 00s hits. Anime industry\u00a0research report predicts eight major trends for 2026\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bushiroad\u2019s Anime Data Insights Lab predicts eight major trends that will likely effect the anime industry in the following year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More sequels, and even more remakes of 90s and 00s hits. Anime industry\u00a0research report predicts eight major trends for 2026\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bushiroad\u2019s Anime Data Insights Lab predicts eight major trends that will likely effect the anime industry in the following year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260115-55789-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"854\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More sequels, and even more remakes of 90s and 00s hits. Anime industry\u00a0research report predicts eight major trends for 2026\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","description":"Bushiroad\u2019s Anime Data Insights Lab predicts eight major trends that will likely effect the anime industry in the following year.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"More sequels, and even more remakes of 90s and 00s hits. Anime industry\u00a0research report predicts eight major trends for 2026\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","og_description":"Bushiroad\u2019s Anime Data Insights Lab predicts eight major trends that will likely effect the anime industry in the following year.","og_url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/","og_site_name":"AUTOMATON WEST","article_published_time":"2026-01-15T13:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1520,"height":854,"url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260115-55789-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amber V","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_site":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amber V","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Amber V","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/fdc6517a00e35b6917ffdb02e8b574d9"},"headline":"More sequels, and even more remakes of 90s and 00s hits. Anime industry\u00a0research report predicts eight major trends for 2026\u00a0","datePublished":"2026-01-15T13:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/"},"wordCount":830,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260115-55789-header.jpg","keywords":["Anime","News (Japan-related)"],"articleSection":["News","Non-Gaming News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/","name":"More sequels, and even more remakes of 90s and 00s hits. Anime industry\u00a0research report predicts eight major trends for 2026\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260115-55789-header.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-15T13:00:00+00:00","description":"Bushiroad\u2019s Anime Data Insights Lab predicts eight major trends that will likely effect the anime industry in the following year.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260115-55789-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260115-55789-header.jpg","width":1520,"height":854,"caption":"Jujutsu Kaisen The Culling Game"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/more-sequels-and-even-more-remakes-of-90s-and-00s-hits-anime-industry-research-report-predicts-eight-major-trends-for-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u30db\u30fc\u30e0","item":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More sequels, and even more remakes of 90s and 00s hits. Anime industry\u00a0research report predicts eight major trends for 2026\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/","name":"AUTOMATON WEST","description":"AUTOMATON is a website that covers the Japanese gaming world. We bring you the news on video games from Osaka and Tokyo.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization","name":"\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30a2\u30af\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u30b2\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u30b0\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/activegamingmedia_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/activegamingmedia_logo.png","width":374,"height":190,"caption":"\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30a2\u30af\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u30b2\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u30b0\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/AUTOMATON_ENG","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCabvYnvuUUbbGUrxkaFRgSA"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/fdc6517a00e35b6917ffdb02e8b574d9","name":"Amber V","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/12252024-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/12252024-100x100.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/12252024-100x100.jpg","caption":"Amber V"},"description":"Editor-in-Chief since October 2023. She grew up playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein with her dad, and is now enamored with obscure Japanese video games and internet culture. Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while making sure to keep news concise and developer stories deep and stimulating.","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/author\/amber-vjestica\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55789"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55804,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55789\/revisions\/55804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}