Major franchises now make far more money from merchandise than from the shows themselves. Popular anime like Pokémon, Dragon Ball, Gundam, and Evangelion essentially use their series to advertise products like figures, clothing, trading cards, and even pachinko games.
It’s amazing how much money merchandise brings in compared to the anime itself! A lot of times, actually making the anime doesn’t turn a huge profit, or even breaks even. So studios really depend on things like figures, games, and other merch to make the franchise successful. Take Pokémon, for example – out of a total of $115 billion in revenue, a whopping $103.6 billion came from merchandise! And honestly, that’s pretty typical across the whole anime industry.
Ufotable’s Demon Slayer Turned a Completed Manga Into a Billion-Dollar Merch Machine
The Demon Slayer franchise, created by Ufotable, has made around $10 billion in total, with merchandise sales accounting for a massive $8.74 billion – about 87% of the total revenue. Interestingly, the franchise peaked in 2020, the same year the original Demon Slayer manga finished, earning an estimated $8.75 billion (1 trillion yen) – demonstrating that merchandise sales were strongest when new manga content stopped being released.
Since 2019, Tanjiro Kamado’s story in the Demon Slayer anime has unfolded over about 37 episodes across several seasons – a shorter run than many other popular anime series. This is because the original manga was planned to be longer but had to be shortened. Despite this, Demon Slayer has become incredibly successful, selling over 220 million copies. The films, even though released with gaps of a year or more, continue to boost sales of related merchandise like figures, special food items, and brand partnerships, potentially even more effectively than the anime episodes themselves.
Bandai’s Saint Cloth Myth Figures Outsell Every Saint Seiya Anime Reboot
Since 1986, the Saint Seiya franchise created by Masami Kurumada has earned over $1.1 billion. A key factor in its continued success is Bandai’s Saint Cloth Myth figure line, particularly the “Revival” and “EX” editions which start at $115. Tamashii Nations regularly releases highly detailed Saint Seiya figures each month, keeping a dedicated global collector base engaged and willing to spend significant amounts on premium figures of characters like Seiya, Shiryu, and Hyoga.
Despite a 2019 animated series and a 2023 live-action movie both being unsuccessful, Netflix’s ‘Knights of the Zodiac’ hasn’t impacted the popularity of Saint Seiya collectibles. Bandai continues to release dozens of new figures each year through its Tamashii Nations line, and sales remain strong.
Naruto Merchandise Hits $1.5 Billion as Studio Pierrot’s Boruto Sits on Hiatus
The Naruto series has generated almost $14 billion in revenue overall. However, sales of the Boruto manga have significantly decreased. The first volume sold 417,000 copies, but by late 2023, sales had dropped to just 102,000. This sharp decline, for a sequel to such a popular series, has led to criticism of creator Masashi Kishimoto, with some fans believing he’s extending the franchise unnecessarily.
I’ve noticed something interesting – even though the second part of Boruto hasn’t started as an anime yet, Naruto merchandise is still incredibly popular. Figures and other items consistently sell out, and there’s a steady demand for Naruto action figures, clothes, and home goods in countries all over the world. It seems the franchise is currently making more money from products than from new episodes of the anime itself.
Toei’s Sailor Moon Earned $13 Billion in Merch Before Crystal Even Aired
By 2014, the Sailor Moon series had earned around $13 billion from merchandise, even before the release of Sailor Moon Crystal. This impressive figure comes from the popularity of the original 1990s anime. While Wikipedia estimates the total at $2.5 billion, industry experts believe the actual revenue is much higher when you include worldwide fashion partnerships, beauty products, and other lifestyle items featuring the character Usagi Tsukino.
While Sailor Moon Crystal faced criticism for its animation quality, and the Sailor Moon Cosmos movies brought the anime series to a close, Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon) continues to generate revenue through official cafes, makeup collaborations with ColourPop, streetwear with KITH, and even 2026 calendars – all without any new episodes being produced.
Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Anime Can’t Match $5 Billion in Trading Cards
The enduring popularity of Kazuki Takahashi’s Yu-Gi-Oh! is largely thanks to its trading cards. The franchise has generated over $5.42 billion in revenue, with $5 billion coming from licensed merchandise sold by Konami. Each new Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series features updated card rules and gameplay, which boosts sales of Konami’s booster packs.
In 2025, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel generated $41.3 million in revenue from mobile platforms, but Konami still makes significantly more money from selling physical trading cards. Interestingly, the most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! cards – some worth thousands of dollars – aren’t based on the anime series. Despite this, collectors are willing to spend a lot of money on these rare, well-preserved cards, especially those from the earliest sets.
Fist of the North Star’s Pachinko Empire Lasted 40 Years Without New Anime
The popular anime Fist of the North Star has generated an incredible $22.5 billion in revenue. A huge portion of that – over 81% – came from arcade games and pachinko machines. Despite the original anime series running for 152 episodes between 1984 and 1988, the franchise by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara hasn’t released new episodes for forty years, resulting in a surprisingly high amount of merchandise compared to the number of episodes produced.
TMS Entertainment revealed that a new Fist of the North Star TV series will premiere in April 2026. This marks the first time in 40 years that fans will see a new episode featuring Kenshiro, making it the longest gap between series in the history of popular shonen anime and manga. Despite selling over 100 million copies of the Fist of the North Star manga during this time, the franchise has largely relied on income from pachinko and arcade games.
Studio Khara’s Evangelion Generated ¥850 Billion From Just 26 Episodes & Pachinko
Despite having just 26 episodes and a handful of movies, Evangelion had already earned over ¥150 billion from merchandise and a remarkable ¥700 billion from pachinko machines by 2015. Characters like Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, and Asuka Langley are featured on a huge range of products – from phones to even airplane decorations – making them feel more like brand representatives than just characters in a show.
While celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025-2026, Evangelion saw a surge in related products – from McDonald’s promotions and clothing lines to art books and themed cafes. However, the only new animated content was a short film shown at festivals. In February 2026, Studio Khara and CloverWorks announced another Evangelion series, but without a confirmed release date, leaving fans waiting and the franchise focused on merchandise rather than new episodes.
Bandai’s Gundam Gunpla Kits Earn Over $500 Million Annually
The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise is incredibly profitable for Bandai, generating over $500 million each year just from sales of Gunpla plastic models. Gundam specifically earned $440 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2026. Because Bandai fully owns the Gundam franchise, all revenue from toys, models, and merchandise goes directly to the company.
Every new Gundam anime series essentially promotes Gunpla (model kits), and popular mecha designs from shows like The Witch from Mercury and GQuuuuuuX quickly become best-selling kits after airing. Bandai’s Gunpla products—thousands of different kits—are entirely responsible for the 160 billion yen in annual Gundam revenue, far exceeding what the anime series themselves generate.
Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball Earnings Haven’t Slowed Down Despite Slowing Releases
Dragon Ball is among the most popular animated series ever created. In 2025, it reached a significant milestone, earning a record $1.2 billion from things like video games, toys, and collectibles. While Dragon Ball Super, produced by Toei Animation, concluded in March 2018 after 131 episodes, its popularity remains strong.
While figure production has been slow, Bandai Namco continues to earn consistent revenue from Dragon Ball through its games, merchandise, and licensing agreements. They predict Dragon Ball will generate 150 billion yen in profits by 2026, based on current merchandise sales, with additional income expected from new content planned for release that year.
The Pokémon Company’s Merch Revenue Makes the Anime a Glorified Commercial
Pokémon is the most financially successful media franchise ever, generating $115 billion in revenue. The vast majority of this—90%—comes from sales of toys, clothing, and other merchandise. In 2024, Pokémon earned over $12 billion, a significant increase of $1.2 billion from the year before. This growth is largely thanks to the popularity of Pikachu on products, rather than the Pokémon Horizons television series.
Pokémon is a massive financial success, bringing in over $10 billion each year. While the anime is popular, it also quietly serves as a powerful advertisement for Pokémon merchandise, which is the main driver of revenue for The Pokémon Company. In fact, merchandise accounts for around 80% of their income, with video games making up only about 20%.
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2026-03-16 04:23