Proof That Idol Otakus are Paying for Your Anime

Yano Research Institute released their otaku market report 2016, and discovered that the otaku markets are increasing.

The market research included a survey where 9,876 people participated. 1,884 respondents claimed to be otaku, and were asked to report their otaku related expenses based on sub-categories.

Expenses of different groups were kept separate for the research. The top 5 individual spending segments are below:

Idol Otaku (255 respondents) - 79,783 yen ($700) each
Maid Otaku (45 respondents) - 37,289 yen ($327) each
Anime Otaku (684 respondents) - 29,843 yen ($262) each
Train Otaku (77 respondents) - 25,891 yen ($227) each
Military Otaku (90 respondents) - 24,178 yen ($212) each

Yeah, Idol Otaku are heavy spenders. It's not surprising that we have seen an increase in idol related anime in recent years, since you can double-dip with idol events and anime products. The money that committees make from idol series can then be used for riskier works.

Yano Research Institute shared the fastest growing otaku markets, which are:

Idol - 30.7% (worth $1.36 billion)
Romance Games - 6.6% (worth $128 million)
Boys Love - 3.8% (worth $193 million)
Doujinshi - 2.4% (worth $680 million)

Yano Research Institute conducts their otaku market research every year, and is a fairly accurate predictor of the trends you see will in the industry for the next year.

If this past year's report is anything to go by, don't expect to see idol series disappear any time soon. And don't be surprised to see more romance games get adapted and more series like Yuri!!! on Ice that include yaoi teases.