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Anime has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years, establishing itself as a major form of entertainment while producing consistently high-quality, major revenue-generating works. Following a record-breaking year in terms of earnings in 2023, a few of the biggest titles ever continued the momentum through 2024, leading to an even greater number of new eyes to anime productions. And while the ever-increasing popularity of the art form is undoubtedly a good thing for the industry and fans, it also comes with other consequences that many may not have foreseen.

In an interview with Business Insider, three prominent producers in the industry sat down to discuss the current state of anime, including Yuichi Fukushima, who works directly on the anime adaptation of Spy x Family with CloverWorks. Alongside Tetsuya Nakatake and Wakana Okamura, producers at Wit Studio and Toho respectively, the three producers expressed their gratitude and delight at the recent success of anime,...

While the anime industry has never been bigger, cracks in production are routinely highlighted, with Spy x Family producer Yuichi Fukushima recently stating that making longer anime series is becoming more challenging.

Via Business Insider, the recent Anime Connect event hosted Story Inc. producer Wakana Okamura, CloverWorks executive officer and producer Yuichi Fukushima and Wit Studio co-founder and producer Tetsuya Nakatake, where they spoke about trends in the industry. Notably, Fukushima shared that producing a two-cour anime series (around 24 episodes) is becoming harder due to limitations in planning anime over the long term.

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Anime Industry Insider Says Producing 2-Cour Shows Is Becoming a Challenge

Sharing his goals for 2025, Fukushima said,...

Anime and Western superheroes are bound to be compared. While it is universally believed that Goku is the strongest character, other characters who fall into the grey zone are still regularly compared.

The most recent comparison comes from the director of My Hero Academia anime in a surprising yet fun answer.

My Hero Academia Director Wants All Might to Battle…

All Might in My Hero Academia | Studio Bones

In an interview at Anime Expo 2016, Kenji Nagasaki and Wakana Okamura were interviewed for more insights into the My Hero Academia anime. The director and producer duo began talking about their most memorable moments, influences, and even their favorite characters.

But one particular question drew out the children in them. When the interviewer asked if the duo would want anyone to face All Might in a fight, they had the most interesting answer.

Nagasaki immediately replied that he wanted All Might to battle against The Hulk.

My Hero Academia and One Piece are the top ongoing Shounen anime out there. Fans are always curious to know how involved the mangakas are with the anime adaptations of their works. Eiichir Oda and Kohei Horikoshi have found the supervision style that fits them the best.

While both franchises have reached critical acclaim, the behind-the-scenes process for them is quite different.

My Hero Academia Movie Director Discusses Kohei Horikoshi’s Engagement

My Hero Academia | Viz Media

In an interview at Anime Expo 2016, Kenji Nagasaki and Wakana Okamura, the director and producer of My Hero Academia, discussed the behind-the-scenes process of creating an anime. After discussing their most memorable series, influences, and various personal interests, they finally reached the topic fans have been awaiting: Kohei Horikoshi‘s involvement in the My Hero Academia anime.

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