“One Piece” producer Tetsuo Fujimura says Japanese intellectual property has gone global
Tetsuo Fujimura’s keynote address “The Future of Japanese Intellectual Property in Global Adaptations” provided TIFFCOM attendees with a compelling argument that Japanese intellectual property is rapidly becoming one of the country’s core industries, rivaling even powerful automakers.
TIFFCOM is the market arm of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Fujimura, founder and CEO of consulting firm Filosophia, as well as founder of major distributor Gaga Corporation, began the talk with a rapid-fire phase of his rise to a leading producer of Japanese-created content for global audiences, including the hit Netflix live-action series “One Piece.”
He explained that the key to his success was his relationships with major Hollywood producers, starting with Marvel Studio founder Avi Arad, with whom he produced the live-action sci-fi film “Ghost in the Shell” in 2017, and TV producer Marty Adelstein, who became his partner in producing “One Piece.”
But his individual achievements, as he lays out with a storm of meticulously researched facts and figures, constitute just one wave of a growing tsunami of Japanese intellectual property, from manga and anime to films and games, advancing onto the global market.
This tsunami has been a long time coming, from the 1990s when only about 10 or 20% of the top 30 films at the global box office were based on existing intellectual property, to nearly 90% in the current decade.
Among the top 20 titles in the latest IP revenue rankings, compiled in 2021, ten are Japanese titles, including “Pokemon,” “Hello Kitty,” “Anpanman,” “Super Mario,” “Shonen Jump,” “Gundam,” “Dragon Ball,” “Fist of the North Star,” “One Piece,” and “Yu-Gi-Oh!” “In this kind of global rankings, Japanese works inevitably appear in large numbers,” Fujimura commented. “So I think you understand that Japan occupies a significant presence in the world in many ways.”
What makes Japanese IP so strong? Fujimura cited three reasons: Japan’s enormous appetite for manga and anime, fueled by major publishers, television broadcasters and anime studios; global anime distribution, with Netflix and Amazon leading the way; Japan is positioned as one of the world’s leading gaming powers, with Sony (“Uncharted,” “Gran Turismo”) and Nintendo (“Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Super Mario”) not only leading the pack, but also producing hit movies from their games.
“Among the gaming originals that have been adapted into live-action films in Hollywood, Japanese IPs are currently the most numerous,” Fujimura said. “I think they will attract more attention in the future.”
One example of this is 2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed $1.361 billion worldwide making it the fifth highest-grossing anime of all time. “Disney has produced countless animated films, and this beats them all except Frozen 2,” Fujimura said. “What has been achieved is incredible and truly shows the power of Japanese animation.”
His conclusion was: “Japan’s typical IP genres – manga, anime and games – have very high growth potential and I believe they will continue to be a source of pride. It is a testament to Japan’s strength, and proves that Japanese IP companies can succeed in Hollywood.”