2021 was one hell of a roller coaster ride for the Japanese anime & manga industry. The industry faced a lot of issues because of the pandemic and lockdown phase. But, the concerning authorities took charge of the situation very quickly and released some dynamic anime shows that made them the highest earning anime franchises of 2021.

Recently, a well established Japanese corporate group named Oricon released its yearly reports of highest earning anime franchises of 2021 that earned a massive income by their several means of media sales. The list included some big names and you’ll be astonished by hearing their yearly income.

And, in this article, we’re going to disclose the income of anime franchises in the year 2021 and will also look out who stands at the top of the table. So, let’s get started then.

10. Haikyuu!! (US $30 Million)

Haikyuu!! is among the best sports anime or say the greatest sports manga series fans ever came to know about. There is plenty of outstanding sports anime out there but, not a single one of them gained as much popularity as Haikyuu!! did.

The theme of the show is centered on the game of Volleyball game but, it brings up other components of sportsmanship so nicely that fans get overwhelmed by it. It has a huge fanbase, but not every one of them knows how to play volleyball! Still, they just love this show for its brilliancy.

And, this year the franchise of Haikyuu! proved it once again by breaking into the top 10 list of highest earning anime franchises of 2021. Even without any anime sequel or a new manga chapter in 2021, Haikyuu!! earned a massive income of US $30 million which is quite a big achievement for the series.

9. TenSura (US $35 Million)

Isekai anime is generally a very interesting subject to ponder over because of its unique concept and reincarnation theories. But, earning a yearly income of US $35 million through an isekai genre is not an easy task. However, TenSura proved it wrong by achieving this milestone in the year 2021.

TenSura, also known as That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, is considered to be the best isekai anime series. The journey of a mere slime named Rimuru Tempest is quite interesting to watch. And, the effort of Studio 8bit towards the animation & fight scenes of the show is also admirable.

All these minor details helped a series like TenSura to prove its worth in the competitive anime industry. With the release of Season 2 and a game adaptation in 2021, the series received a lot of praise from the fans that reflected in the franchise’s income chart as well.

8. My Hero Academia (US $35.5 Million)

2021 was a great year for My Hero Academia as it released its 5th installment of the anime television series, a video game adaptation, light novels and the third movie of the franchise titled “My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission”.

The film performed very well at the box office and grossed a total of US $29.3 million in Japan alone (as of Dec 2021). The fifth season of the series, which was outlasted for almost 7 months, also did a great job in keeping the franchise on track.

Crossing the mark of US $35 million would not have been possible for the franchise if it was not for the staggering sales of manga and light novel adaptations. In 2021, MHA was on the 5th spot of highest selling manga series with a total sales of 7.02 million copies breaking its past two years records.

7. Attack On Titan (US $37 Million)

In a month, Attack On Titan will premiere its final season of the series and with that, the fabulous journey of the franchise will finally come to an end after 13 years. But, even in its final moments, the franchise doesn’t look like settling down with less.

With a net income of a whopping US $37 million it has become the 7th highest earning anime franchises of 2021. The year saw the end of Attack On Titan manga and fans were crazy about reading the final volume of the series that eventually lead to manga sales of 7.3 million in a year.

Blu-ray Discs, DVDs and music CDs sales played a big role in increasing the yearly income of the Attack On Titan franchise and as a result, it entered the top 10 list without any difficulties.

6. Love Live! (US $46 Million)

Love Live! School Idol Project is a multimedia project created by the co-production of Kadokawa, Bandai Namco Arts and Studio Sunrise. The franchise debuted in 2013 with an anime television series and after that delivered multiple anime titles, films, light novels, manga and video games.

Each of the individual titles in Love Live! franchise revolves around a group of teenage girls who become school idols as an extracurricular activity. Their main activities involve singing and choreographed dancing to self-written songs they perform at concerts or other music events.

The franchise has done quite well in the past few years and in 2016, it was ranked 1st in best-selling media franchises in Japan. Only in four years (from 2015-2018) the franchise generated US $209 million and this year as well it outranked some big names by earning a net income of US $46 million.

5. One Piece (US $47.8 Million)

One Piece is entertaining its fans for the last 23 years and its journey is remarkable till now. With more than 1000 manga chapters and anime episodes, it has set milestones that no one ever can break. Moreover, it is the 2nd best-selling comic book in the world with a total sales of 490 million copies.

But, 2021 was a special year for the franchise as it completed 1000 episodes of anime television series, released its 1000th manga chapter and 100th volume of the manga series, all these achievements in a single year. And also announced a new One Piece film for the next year.

Just like every year, this year as well One Piece broke into the list of highest earning anime franchises of 2021 with an estimated media sales of over US $47.8 million. Another successful year ended for the franchise and the creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda who is currently the richest manga writer of all time.

4. Uma Musume (US $88 Million)

Uma Musume Pretty Darby is not a well-known media franchise among anime fans but its 2021 earnings will shock you as it left behind a franchise like One Piece to reach the double digits of US $88 million this year.

The multimedia franchise is created by Cygames and it follows the special species of racehorses that are reincarnated as horse girls in a parallel world. In this life, they start their journey over again as they continue to race and perhaps relive the success they once lived through.

In Feb 2021, Uma Musume released a mobile game for iOS and Android users that received positive critics from fans. Till now the franchise has premiered two seasons of anime television series and multiple manga & light novel adaptations are also in print currently.

3. Tokyo Revengers (US $120 Million)

When the TV anime series Tokyo Revengers was premiered in April 2021 no one ever imagined that the series will be such a huge success. Its popularity level kept increasing in such a rapid manner that it broke several records in a very short time. And, next year the franchise is all set to release Tokyo Revengers Season 2.

Written & illustrated by Ken Wakui, the manga sold more than 30 million copies (physical & digital sales) in just a couple of months right after the release of the anime. Currently, Tokyo Revengers manga has more than 40 million copies in circulation out of which 90% sales happened in 2021 alone.

Moreover, the series also outshined franchises like One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen and AOT in the late run of 2021 at every media platform ranging from manga sales to TV anime rankings. And, adding more to their list the franchise earned a total of US $120 million in the very first year of its anime debut.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen (US $160 Million)

Jujutsu Kaisen has made its name in the big league of the anime industry in just a couple of years. It’s now hailed to be the best new-gen anime series and is also the top-selling manga of 2021 with an estimated sales of 31 million copies.

All this happened right after the release of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime in October 2020. With a dark build-up and funny elements blended nicely, Studio MAPPA delivered the show to the audience very nicely. And, the popularity of the show impacted the manga sales that kept increasing by each month.

And, now as 2021 nears its end, the franchise has concluded its successful yearly run with a total income of US $160 million. It includes manga sales, Blu-ray Discs, DVDs and music CDs sales. Moreover, the franchise has released its first movie titled “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” on Dec 24th and it’s also breaking the box-office records at a very progressive speed.

1. Demon Slayer (US $232 Million)

Demon Slayer is undoubtedly the best anime franchise in the Japanese industry in the current situation. Not just in terms of popularity, the show has been turned out to be very profitable for the makers and the concerning media companies.

According to Oricon rankings, in 2021 alone, Demon Slayer earned a massive collection of US $232 million by its different media sales including manga and other means of entertainment. A big part of it came from the box-office collection of the movie “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” which is now the highest-grossing anime movie of all time.

Apart from the manga & movie tickets sales, the franchise made multiple business deals in 2021 that included TV commercials and collaboration with ANA Airways. Moreover, the release of the video game adaptation of Demon Slayer hyped the fans and as a result, the market value of the franchise reached the top becoming the highest earning anime franchises of 2021.

With this, our list of highest earning anime franchises of 2021 comes to an end. We hope you liked it. Let us know in the comments section, which one you think will top-rank the chart next year?

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