Anime Survey 2022 Preliminary Results

Preliminary Results of the 2022 Anime Survey

In this document we report preliminary results from the 2022 Anime Survey. A goal of this series of preliminary working papers is to provide the fandom with a brief overview of some of the basic findings. In the interest of keeping this short and interesting, we have gone through the results and found some of the most interesting and relevant findings for anime fans. Many of the findings not reported here will eventually be included in future papers.

We would like to again give special thanks to the participants and moderators on reddit this year. Thank you to everyone who spread the word and shared with friends. This has been our largest sample of anime fans to date. Thank you!

Method and Participants

We handed out pencil-paper surveys at AnimeFest (Dallas, TX, July 29-August 1; n = 312) and emailed our volunteer list and solicited participants from various anime-related websites from July 30 to September 10, 2022. After removing participants that did not complete a majority of questions, the present data includes 4,770 anime fans (73.9% men, M_age = 24.82, SD = 6.77). Similar to prior years, the majority of respondents were from the United States (55.6%). However, we received responses from 101 different countries including Canada (6.4%), the UK (4.8%), Germany (4.4%), Australia (2.3%), India (2.2%), France (1.7%), Brazil (1.5%), Philippines (1.3%), and Poland (1.1%).

1. What are fans’ gender and sexual orientation?

Anime fans were asked to self-identify with any of the below categories. The data reveal that men are significantly more represented in our surveys than are women. In addition, approximately 10% of the fandom identifies as transgender, genderqueer, non-conforming, agender, genderfluid, or something other than cisgender.

We also asked about sexual orientation. Participants were asked to pick the option that best describes them. We added demisexual this year. The numbers reveal, as in previous years, that while the majority of the fandom identifies as straight, a sizable proportion of the fandom—nearly 30%—does not. This, coupled with the 10% of transgender and genderqueer/non-conforming participants above, suggests that there is a fairly significant LGBTQ+ presence in the anime fandom—although one that is, proportionately speaking, smaller than other fandoms we’ve studied (e.g., about half the size of the LGBTQ+ proportion observed in the furry fandom).

2. What other activities and interests do fans have?

Fans were asked to indicate which of the following interests that applied to them (they were allowed to choose as many options as they wanted). Similar to prior years, video gaming was among the most common non-anime-related interests. We also added some new categories this year, based on recommendations from fans in our previous surveys (e.g., gacha gamer, vocaloid fan).

3. How frequently do fans participate in fan-related activities?

We asked fans to indicate how frequently they participated in different activities (1 = never, 7 = often). We also compared the frequency with last year’s sample. While the numbers were generally comparable overall, the data did show that this year’s fans were somewhat less active, particularly when it came to many forms of fan-fan interaction (e.g., local meet-ups, conventions, chatting with other fans) compared to last year. This may represent an overall decline in social facets of anime fan activities or it may simply be an idiosyncrasy of the sample itself (e.g., the relative proportion of convention-going fans to in-person fans in our sample).

4. How frequently do anime fans use an anime avatar online?

We asked fans to indicate how frequently they used an anime avatar when posting/interacting with others online (1 = never, 7 = often). The data showed that anime fans were somewhat polarized on this: the majority either never used an anime avatar or they used them all the time (with not using an avatar being slightly more common). Far fewer anime fans only occasionally used an anime avatar, suggesting that those who had one tend to use it more frequently than not.

5. How frequently do anime fans watch VTuber videos?

We asked fans to indicate how frequently they watched VTuber videos (1 = never, 7 = often). A majority of fans do not watch VTuber videos very frequently.

6. What are fans’ genre preferences?

We asked fans to rate their preferences for various genres of anime on a scale we constructed in the 2016 survey (see https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JWTEW4PYVCntBCueFBLonX3EFFdUmL9l/view). Fans rated the items on a 7-point scale (1 = do not like, 7 = very much like). The results showed that fans rated drama, slice of life, and action above the midpoint of the measure (i.e., 4). Mecha was just at the midpoint and hentai was below the midpoint. There were minor changes between the 2016 and 2022 ratings with slightly lower preferences for all genre dimensions (with the exception of hentai) in the more recent sample. This, coupled with some of our previously-mentioned findings (e.g., that the present sample engaged in less social interaction with other fans) may suggest that the present sample is comprised of newer fans than previous years, or may reflect changing norms in the anime fandom.

7. Do fans prefer isekai anime?

Along with the genre preference scale, we included isekai as a genre (1 = do not like, 7 = very much like). A majority of fans reported liking isekai anime (M = 4.52, SD = 2.00).

8. How do fans score on a measure of personality?

We asked fans to rate their personality on a short, 10-item measure (Gosling et al., 2003; 1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). We also compared this year’s data with our 2014 survey data. Interestingly, there was little change over the past eight years. Perhaps the most striking feature is that the fandom largely consists of people who tend toward self-reported introversion, far more than what one observes in the general population. This tendency seemed to be even more pronounced in the most recent sample relative to the sample from 2014.

9. Do fans follow traditional gender roles?

We adapted a measure (12-item Bem Sex-Role Inventory) of endorsement of gender roles and asked fans to rate the extent that stereotypical characteristics (e.g., sympathetic, dominant) were applicable to them (1 = not applicable, 7 = totally applicable). Self-identified women rated themselves as higher on stereotypical feminine characteristics than did self-identified men. As an interesting contrast, there was no significant difference between self-identified women and self-identified men on characteristics that are stereotypically considered to be masculine. One possible explanation for this may stem from the fact that, demographically, the anime fandom is a space where men are more common than women. As such, it may be perceived as a more “masculine” hobby, preferentially selecting for women who are, almost by definition, more likely to identify with more masculine traits and interests. This is just speculation, however, and will need to be tested in future studies.

10. What motivates anime fans?

Although we have assessed motivations before (see https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ui3sXu4kWBctUVjg1K3Uf2wkPSo5jdzI/view), there are many motivations we have not assessed. Further, in the past the motives were assessed in a manner that was specific to why they are part of the fandom. This year we included 13 motivations from prior research (Rubin, 2017) that were assessed about them (not necessarily about why they are fans). We asked fans to indicate their degree of agreement with motives (e.g., “I enjoy having a clear and structured mode of life”) on a 7-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). The top rated motives included need for affect, need for structure, and need for precision. The lowest rated motivation was a need for power. This conceptually replicates past research showing that anime fans do not value power (Reysen et al., 2021). In contrast, anime fans seem to be highly motivated by a need for affect, a finding which is consistent with a model of media consumption called uses and gratifications theory, which posits that those who consume media don’t do so passively and mindlessly, but rather do so, among other reasons, to regulate the way they feel (e.g., watching particular anime to feel happy or sad or to vent one’s felt frustration or anger).

11. Do anime fans have a fear of missing out?

The fear of missing out is the belief that others are enjoying or having positive experiences that one is missing out on (Riordan et al., 2020). We adapted a single-item measure (“I often feel like I am missing out”) of this construct and administered to anime fans. As shown below, a majority of fans indicate that they do experience a fear of missing out. Further research may delve more into this phenomenon, including figuring out what, precisely, anime fans may fear missing out on (e.g., social experiences, new anime series, etc.).

12. Are anime fans currently experiencing burnout?

We adapted two items from prior research (Maslach & Jackson, 1981) to assess the degree that anime fans are experiencing burnout. As shown below, most anime fans report a significant degree of emotional burnout and overall burnout from their work or school—something which may also drive their interest in anime and anime fandom (see Question 10 about being motivated to watch anime to regulate one’s emotional state).

I feel burned out from my work/school.

I feel emotionally drained from my work/school.

13. Do anime fans watch anime as a form of escapism?

We adapted four items from prior research (Stenseng et al., 2021) to assess positive and negative forms of escapism. Two items assessed self-expansion (e.g., “I watch anime to try to get to know myself better”) and self-suppression (e.g., “I watch anime to escape from reality;” 1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Although fans rated both forms of escapism above the midpoint of the measure, self-suppression was significantly higher than self-expansion. This, in conjunction with the previous question and the results of Question #10, further supports the idea that anime, for many anime fans, may be a form of escapism from day-to-day life stress and burnout.

14. What are the important aspects of anime for viewers’ enjoyment?

We asked fans to rate 10 aspects of anime to assess what matters for fans’ enjoyment of anime (1 = not important, 7 = very important). The story and personality of main characters were the top aspects of anime that were important for enjoyment. However, all aspects were rated above the midpoint of the measure in terms of importance. It may be worth noting that the three most important factors had nothing to do with the art style or quality of the animation itself, something which might be surprising to outsiders who might assume that fans of anime would be characterized primarily by their interest in a particular style of art or animation. It would appear, at least from this preliminary data, that anime fans are watching for the characters and the storyline first and foremost, and only secondarily for the art itself, which might suggest that anime fans have more in common with other fans than one might expect based solely on a comparison of superficial differences between genres of media.

15. Have attitudes and perceived knowledge changed over time?

We were asked to check to see if fans’ perceptions of Westernization has changed. Additionally, we checked whether perceived knowledge of anime and Japan has changed (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). For the most part, the data show that little has changed, although there may be a growing belief that Western influences like Netflix may be harming the overall quality of anime, something that may be prompted by a growing influence of companies like Netflix on the anime market.

16. Does anime encourage fans to learn more about Japan?

We asked fans to rate the extent that anime has encouraged them to learn more about Japan (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Fans on average generally agreed that anime has, indeed, encouraged them to learn and visit Japan, although this was far from a universal feeling.

17. What are fans’ perception of women in anime and its influence?

We asked fans whether they believed that the portrayal of women in anime is unrealistic and whether anime harms viewers’ perception of Asian women (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). A majority of fans agreed that the portrayal of women in anime is unrealistic. Fans were neutral (mean on the midpoint of the measure) for whether anime harms the viewers’ perceptions of Asian women. One caveat worth noting is that, without a comparison to how men are perceived as being portrayed in anime (i.e., in a realistic manner or not), it is impossible to state whether the unrealistic portrayal of women is unique to women in anime. Moreover, it should be noted that it is entirely possible for anime to actually have a detrimental impact on a person’s perceptions of a group without viewers themselves being aware of this fact.

18. Do fans dislike CGI in anime?

We asked whether fans disliked CGI in anime (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). The results were pretty normally distributed around the midpoint of the scale, which indicates a fair degree of neutrality on this issue, with relatively few fans taking an extreme position one way or another.

19. What do fans think about localization in translations?

We asked fans rate their opinion of localization in translations (“I dislike localization in translations of anime/manga”). Similar to attitudes toward CGI, fans were largely neutral on their attitude toward localization in translations, with relatively few adopting extreme positions one way or another.

20. Has preference for sub/dub changed over time?

We asked fans whether they preferred subtitled, dubbed, or if they like both equally. Compared to when we asked this same question in 2016 there was little change regarding preference for dubbed anime. However, the data suggest that there might be an increasing trend toward preferring subtitled anime. Of particular note, this change in preference seems to have come at the cost of a drop in people who like both equally. As the study was not a longitudinal one, however, it remains to be seen whether the difference observed reflects a genuine change over time or can be chalked up to differences in the nature of the samples.

21. How frequently do fans consume alcohol?

We asked fans how frequently they consume alcohol. The results show that a majority do not drink frequently (we’re only presenting the data for participants 21 years of age or older). In fact, the single-most common category was for fans to not drink at all—a number reflecting broader societal trends in North America for younger people to be less and less likely to drink or consume drugs in recent generations.

22. Has fans’ degree of satisfaction with life changed over time?

Many years we have included a single-item measure of satisfaction with life (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Over time there has been little change with scores hovering around 4.5. However, there was a slight dip this year (M = 4.16), which again may reflect an overall decline in the fandom’s life satisfaction due to events in the past year or it may reflect changes in the composition of the sample.