Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the ex-chairman of the Medienklomerat of the same name Kadokawa, is convinced that artificial intelligence and, above all, short anime will have a lasting impact on the future of the industry. We summarize.
Short anime are the future
The corresponding statements were made at the announcement conference of the “Japan-China International Animation Film Festival”, which is to take place in the Kadokawa Musashino Museum in Tokorozawa (Saitama) in May 2026, and in this context were also full of praise for the Chinese animation practices:
»In the future, short anime will advance the Japanese content, and with the help of generative AI we will reach a new level. I think we are now in a phase in which Japan should learn from China. My wish is a relationship between the two countries based on mutual respect. “
With his words, the 81-year-old, in addition to the ubiquitous topic of artificial intelligence, also attracted attention to another trend that has recently gained significant importance in the Japanese anime industry.
Short anime, which-as the name reveals-usually only last two to five minutes and run on popular platforms such as YouTube or TikTok, manage to produce numerous new IPs in a short time. These are then transferred to areas such as merchandising or serve the generation of advertising revenue.
Great popularity
But also with end users, especially from younger generations, short anime is very popular, as has already been confirmed by crunchyroll CEO Rahul purini.
After all, they often reveal background stories or other scenes that were not adapted in the anime. The best examples of this would be the short anime for “Re: Zero” and “The Apothecary Diaries”. But even if you do not do this, you will at least shorten the waiting time for any sequel in any case.
One of the leading producers of Short-Anime is the Plot company, which has already accumulated over 12 million subscribers and 13 billion calls on its channels. No wonder that several large corporations such as the Japanese heavyweight Bandai Namco have invested in Plott.
As a result, an official app for the distribution of short anime is to appear this year-cost: a billion yen (around 5.8 million euros). But what do you think of short anime? Rather something for in between or do you look at it with full conviction? Please let us know in the comments!
