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- Stellar past: cinemas and streaming services have recorded an increase in Russians' interest in anime
Stellar past: cinemas and streaming services have recorded an increase in Russians' interest in anime
An anime festival has started in Moskino, which takes place in 15 cinemas at once. The program includes 50 feature films, including the main works of two of the most famous directors of Japanese animation — Hayao Miyazaki and Makoto Shinkai. At the same time, online platforms are recording an increase in interest in the genre. Experts note that anime has ceased to be a niche hobby and has become one of the most popular formats of popular culture.
Anime Culture Festival
Russians' interest in anime continues to grow. There are four projects in this genre in the Russian rating of the Medialogy series for the first half of 2026: "Magic Battle", "Infernal Paradise", "Van Pease", "Star Child". Last year's top 100 included "Raising the Level alone", "Monologue of a Pharmacist", "Gachiakuta", "Dandadan", "Van Pease"
A shot from "The Pharmacist's Monologue"
Another confirmation of the trend was the Hayao Miyazaki Night, which took place on August 1 at the Moskino Cosmos cinema. The film marathon brought together screenings of three cult films by Studio Ghibli — "Gone with the Ghosts", "Porco Rosso" and "The Walking Castle". In addition to the film screenings, the audience attended a lecture by Elena Sycheva, Candidate of Cultural Studies, associate professor at MGIMO, researcher of Japanese culture, dedicated to the peculiarities of Japanese culture and anime.
The continuation of this program was the Big Anime Festival, which takes place in 15 cinemas of the network at once.: "Cosmos", "Angara", "Torch", "Elbrus", "Dawn", "Vimpel", "Zhukovsky", "Neva", "Sputnik", "Saturn", "Iskra", "Tula", "Yunost", "Mars" and "Molodezhny".
Shot from "Gone with the Ghosts"
— We have been seeing increased interest in Japanese animation in our cinemas for several years now. Moreover, both young people and a more mature audience come to film screenings. For many, anime is primarily associated with the name of the legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, but this world is much wider, as the program of the Big Anime Festival in Moskino proves. Over the course of 10 days, we will show 50 films in our cinemas — from classics to the most high-profile premieres of recent years. The sessions will be held in all prefectures of the capital, and residents of residential areas will have access to a large cultural event near their homes," Dmitry Malshov, head of the Department for Coordination and Control of cinemas and the Moskino Film fund, told Izvestia.
According to him, if a few years ago Japanese animation was perceived as a product for a narrow circle of fans, today the situation has changed dramatically.
A shot from Pokemon
— Those who grew up on tapes with "Sailor Moon" and "Pokemon" are today solvent adults of 30-40 years old. They come to the cinema with their children. A family trip to a full-length anime by Hayao Miyazaki or Makoto Shinkai has become as much a familiar leisure activity as watching any other family movie. At the same time, the festival is also aimed at young people who previously did not perceive repertory cinemas as a place to relax," said Dmitry Malshov.
The undisputed leader of the audience's interest, the expert notes, remains the work of Hayao Miyazaki.
A shot from "Princess Mononoke"
— Every re-release of "Gone with the Ghosts", "Princess Mononoke" or "The Walking Castle" gathers full houses. Moreover, the audience is very diverse: families with children, students of creative universities and adult viewers who came for nostalgia," he added.
The growing interest is also confirmed by data from online platforms. According to Kinopoisk, Japanese animation is currently the second most popular genre among Russian users after dramas. For almost six years of observations, anime has provided 15% of the total user interest, ahead of comedies and melodramas, which account for 11% each.
The service noted the maximum popularity of Japanese animation in the summer of 2025. At that time, anime topped the genre rating for the first time in a month with a 20% share, and Japanese projects outperformed American ones in terms of audience attention.
a shot from "Van Pease"
In 2026, the audience's interest in Japanese animation remains high. In July, the genre's share on the platform increased by a third compared to June and reached 12%, largely due to the release of the new season of "Reincarnation of the Unemployed." According to the results of the first half of the year, the leaders in views were "The Magic Battle" (the third season topped the rating), "Van Pease" and "Freeren, who sees off the last journey."
At the same time, the number of viewers is also increasing. This July, 2.6 million users watched anime on the platform, more than one and a half times more than a year earlier. The most popular release of the month was the new series Ghost in the Shell, followed by Gachiakuta and Attack of the Titans. Since the beginning of the year, 7.1 million YandexPlus subscribers have already watched anime on Kinopoisk, which is two and a half times more than in the same period of 2025.
A shot from "Freeren, seeing off the last journey"
The main audience of the genre is young viewers: 62% of anime fans are between 18 and 34 years old, while almost a quarter of the audience is under 24 years old. At the same time, the genre is gradually becoming family—friendly - about a quarter of users watch Japanese animation through family subscriptions and children's profiles.
Influencers promote anime to the masses
Interestingly, the genre's popularity is growing at the same time as a large-scale restructuring of the Russian digital market. According to the Association of Bloggers and Agencies (ABA), as well as the communication agency Didenok Team, in the first half of 2026, advertisers began actively redistributing budgets from YouTube and Telegram in favor of Russian sites. The volume of advertising placements in VK increased by 47%, and Max and Rutube showed the highest growth rates. Along with the development of domestic online services, anime libraries, thematic communities and special projects are expanding, which also contributes to the growth of the genre's audience.
"The Magic Battle"
— Of course, the market has not reached its limit yet. The potential for further growth will depend not only on the volume of advertising budgets, but also on the platforms' ability to develop business tools, recommendation algorithms, work with content authors, and the quality of advertising products," said Yulia Dolgova, ABA President.
According to her, the volume of the influencer marketing market, in fact, the main channel for anime promotion, for the first half of 2026 amounted to about 25 billion rubles (against 24.5 billion for the same period last year). In nominal terms, this is an increase of only 2%, and taking into account inflation, it is an actual decrease of 3-4%. For comparison, in 2023-2024, the market added 30-37% per year. Experts point out that the current surge in attention to Japanese animation cannot be explained by one reason.
— The situation with anime in Russia over the past three years is an example of a perfect storm when several factors converged at the same time. Streaming services introduced the genre to a mass audience, cinemas made it a part of urban leisure, and festivals turned watching anime into a full-fledged cultural event. It is this synergy that has become the main driver of the popularity of Japanese animation in Russia," concluded Dmitry Malshov.
A shot from "Your Name"
Alexander Bodrov, an anime culture enthusiast, noted that there is also a trend towards a renaissance of classics in the world - for example, by the tenth anniversary of the cult anime "Your Name" by Makoto Shinkai, it will be shown on wide screens again. The updated 4K version is expected to be released worldwide on August 14, with no date yet in Russia.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
