How TikTok Is Powering The Next Wave Of Global Anime Fandom

Forbes

4 days ago

Inside TikTok's Anime Industry Meetup: How Publishers, Studios, and Creators Are Shaping the Future of Fandom
On the eve of the 2025 Los Angeles Anime Expo, TikTok's Publisher team hosted an evening of conversation and connection at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. The guest list brought together anime publishers, studios, streaming platforms, and creators from across the globe.
The focus of the evening was clear. Anime fandom is more global than it has ever been, and TikTok is a driving force behind this passionate community sharing these stories that they love.
Over the past year, anime-related content has ranked among the most viewed and reshared genres on TikTok. Hashtags like #AnimeTok, #MangaTok, and #Cosplay have generated more than 51 million posts. But what matters most is how fans are engaging.
Viewers are turning into active participants. They remix trailers, stitch reactions, share scene-by-scene commentary, and build entire narratives around their favorite characters. This behavior turns casual interest into lasting fandom and gives publishers a new way to seed stories and test creative concepts long before a global release.
Anime is evolving through this kind of fan-driven sharing and as a result, new titles are reaching audiences around the world, including many who are discovering anime for the first time. TikTok has become a bridge that connects stories across cultures and communities. It's not just fueling growth; it's changing how anime travels and takes root with global audiences.
The meetup opened with a keynote that challenged publishers to think about how their
strategies could evolve alongside the platform. At the center of the conversation was a timely question: Can anime catch up to Hollywood? The short answer, according to the speakers, is yes. In many ways, it already has.
The data supports it, but so does the energy of the community. Anime-related content is not only keeping pace with film and television topics on the platform, it's driving high levels of engagement, discussion, and creativity.
This keynote emphasized the importance of testing content, exploring new formats, and giving creators the flexibility to interpret IP in ways that resonate with their audiences. It provides a real-time view into what fans care about, from the characters they connect with to the moments that spark conversation.
Clips resurface months after a show premieres. Audio trends evolve alongside fan
interpretations. This kind of environment gives publishers a unique opportunity to build momentum, long after the initial launch.
The key takeaway: That means testing early, listening closely, and embracing a landscape where content is meant to be engaged with.
TikTok isn't just where anime fandom lives, but it has helped scale it, diversify it, and accelerate the way stories travel. Entire series are now discovered through fan edits. Legacy franchises find new life when a stitched clip lands in the right feed. A single creator's reaction can spark global demand.
What's especially exciting is that this momentum isn't confined to one region or
demographic. The event's creator panels made that clear, showcasing voices from both Japan and the United States who are helping anime reach new audiences through creative, community-driven content.
The first panel featured a bilingual conversation between Straw Hat Goofy, a U.S.-based anime creator known for his charismatic anime commentary and film reviews, and Shinnosuke, a creator from Japan known for introducing films, television dramas, and anime. Together, they reflected on how TikTok has helped shift the perception of anime in their respective countries.
He also noted how celebrities like Michael B. Jordan and Megan Thee Stallion have shown their enthusiasm about anime publicly, helping to normalize and elevate the genre in pop culture. Shinnosuke shared a similar evolution in Japan.
The second panel brought together Satoyu, a creator from Japan widely recognized for his popular content that creatively blends anime with his own original character, and the California-based collective TheAnimeMen, a group of diverse best friends who share their love for anime, and their goal is to normalize anime across the world. They spoke about the role creators play in cross-cultural exchange. 'TikTok and our content bridge the gap for users overseas who haven't seen anime,' Satoyu explained. He described how he uses character-driven content and interactions in the comments to help new viewers understand and fall in love with anime. 'I am able to portray stories through IP content and relay them for those who don't know about it, which has helped bring anime to different audiences.'
AnimeMen built on that idea, saying, 'People didn't know a lot of anime titles before TikTok came around. TikTok is bridging the gap for more niche anime in the U.S.' They emphasized that partnerships with creators are key to anime's future abroad.
TikTok has become a platform where creators can both express their fandom and actively expand it. For anime companies, the potential to grow through authentic collaboration is stronger than ever.
Anime fans are already showing up. The opportunity now lies in how industry players choose to show up in return. That means testing early, listening closely, and embracing a landscape where content is meant to be engaged with, not just consumed. Anime is evolving in real time, and this week's event made it clear that TikTok is one of the platforms where that evolution is being shaped, shared, and celebrated the loudest.