{"rewrite":{"id":"r_242b0714c6d4282eabe23c7f","clusterId":"c_9cb78aad942f8e8fceb23d08","slug":"disney-invests-in-anime-but-limits-marketing-to-asia","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Disney Invests in Anime but Limits Marketing to Asia","summary":"Disney is expanding its anime library, securing exclusive streaming rights to roughly 2-3% of new anime production through a long-term output deal with Kodansha. However, the company's marketing and promotion for these titles remains heavily concentrated in Asia, leaving global audiences largely unaware of the expansion. The upcoming series \"Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation,\" a wholly Japanese-produced original anime featuring multiple Disney intellectual properties, exemplifies this strategy. Despite being announced nearly four years ago and having a major presence at AnimeJapan 2025 in Tokyo, Disney only recently confirmed its global streaming availability to outlets like Variety and Deadline, just two months before its premiere. Other titles, such as \"Bullet/Bullet\" from \"Jujutsu Kaisen\" director Sunghoo Park, received English-language promotion only from the Disney+ Singapore YouTube channel. Disney+ monthly release calendars in July detailed numerous documentaries and resort walkthroughs but omitted anime titles. On Hulu, anime remains a tertiary focus within the Animayhem brand. This limited marketing has led fans to describe anime on Disney+ as being in \"Disney Jail.\"","whyItMatters":"Disney's reluctance to market its growing anime catalog outside Asia creates a self-fulfilling cycle where low viewership data justifies further underinvestment, despite the company holding exclusive rights to high-profile titles.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eDisney has secured exclusive streaming rights to roughly 2-3% of all new anime produced, largely through a long-term output deal with major Japanese publisher Kodansha. Despite this, the company's marketing efforts for these titles are almost entirely confined to Asia. The upcoming \"Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation\" is a key example: a wholly Japanese-produced original anime that weaves multiple Disney IPs into its story and characters. The series was announced nearly four years ago and had a significant presence at AnimeJapan 2025 in Tokyo, but Disney only confirmed its global streaming availability to English-language outlets like Variety and Deadline in August, just two months before its October premiere.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis pattern extends to other titles. \"Bullet/Bullet,\" a new original anime from \"Jujutsu Kaisen\" director Sunghoo Park, was released on Disney platforms in July. However, the only English-language trailer or promotion published by Disney came from the Disney+ Singapore YouTube channel. Disney+ monthly release calendars for July detailed over a dozen shark-related documentaries and various Disneyland Resort walkthroughs but neglected to mention any anime titles. On Hulu, anime is positioned as a tertiary focus within the Animayhem brand, even at events like Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con. This corporate disinterest has led fans to describe anime on Disney+ as being stuck in \"Disney Jail.\"","blueskyPost":"Disney's output deal with Kodansha secures roughly 2-3% of new anime, but regionalized marketing means most of that library stays invisible outside Asia.","twitterPost":"Disney's Kodansha deal gets 2-3% of new anime, but regional marketing keeps it invisible outside Asia.","threadsPost":"Disney's Kodansha output deal secures roughly 2-3% of new anime production, but the company markets those titles almost exclusively in Asia. Global audiences see none of it. The result is a library that exists on paper but not in public awareness.","newsletterBlurb":"Disney is quietly building an anime library, securing exclusive rights to a small but notable share of new production through a Kodansha deal. Yet the company's marketing for these titles is almost entirely limited to Asia, leaving global audiences in the dark. The upcoming 'Twisted-Wonderland' anime, featuring multiple Disney IPs, only received a global streaming confirmation two months before its premiere.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime By The Numbers\",\"url\":\"https://animebythenumbers.substack.com/p/disney-anime-twisted-wonderland\",\"title\":\"Disney is going big on anime - but only in Asia\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":6145,"outputTokens":884,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1780228823,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T11:40:04.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-05-31T11:44:05.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T11:44:05.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_9cb78aad942f8e8fceb23d08","canonicalTitle":"Disney is going big on anime – but only in Asia","representativeArticleId":"a_e2053304bacd2e694f806911","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[\"Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation\"],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[\"Disney\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"business","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2025-08-08T14:02:58.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2025-08-08T14:02:58.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T11:44:05.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime By The Numbers","url":"https://animebythenumbers.substack.com/p/disney-anime-twisted-wonderland","title":"Disney is going big on anime – but only in Asia"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":["Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation"],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":["Disney"],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Disney has secured exclusive streaming rights to roughly 2-3% of all new anime produced through a long-term output deal with Kodansha.","The only English-language promotion for 'Bullet/Bullet,' a new original anime from 'Jujutsu Kaisen' director Sunghoo Park, came from the Disney+ Singapore YouTube channel.","Disney+ monthly release calendars for July 2025 detailed over a dozen shark-related documentaries and Disneyland Resort walkthroughs but omitted any anime titles.","Fans have described anime on Disney+ as being stuck in 'Disney Jail' due to limited marketing outside Asia."]}