The cosplay was typically intense and wildly creative among the tens of thousands of anime fans who attended the four-day Anime Expo in downtown Los Angeles over the holiday weekend.

But there was one unmissable trend evident in the sea of ​​characters that stood out like a neon sign to executives at Crunchyroll, Sony Corp.’s subscription anime streaming platform that is the undisputed center of the growing medium.

Executives couldn’t help but notice the sheer volume of tall, homemade, conical witch hats with tassels worn by attendees in a nod to the hit Crunchyroll series “Witch Hat Atelier.” What surprised them was that the program only arrived on the platform at the beginning of April. That means fans quickly committed to offering a cosplay tribute to the adventures of the brave witch’s apprentice Coco as they prepared for this weekend’s Anime Expo convention, which is the largest gathering of its kind for fans in North America.

For many young adults, couples and families, the America 250 celebrations took a backseat to the opportunity to meet their anime heroes through panels, meet-and-greets, previews and fan giveaways that unfolded over four days at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Peacock Theater and other venues in downtown Los Angeles.

“We’re really starting to understand how global this phenomenon has become and to what extent among Gen Z this has become their favorite medium and art form,” says Mitchel Berger, executive vice president of global commerce at Crunchyroll. “Many people are still surprised by its global nature and by the dominant military it has become at this point.”

This year’s Anime Expo, which concludes today, caps an astonishing 12-month period of growth in business and pop culture prominence for anime. Netflix’s mammoth film “K-Pop Demon Hunters” premiered on June 20, 2025. It set viewership records for the dominant streamer and, perhaps just as important, the film and its music toured the international awards circuit, shining a spotlight on the artistry and artisanal nature of anime production.

In September 2025, Sony Pictures and Crunchyroll scored a box office hit with “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle.” Perhaps the surest sign of Crunchyroll’s impact in serving a lucrative global niche is the fact that competitors from AMC Networks to Netflix, Tubi and Hulu have been increasing their investment in anime content. With the right property, anime attracts an audience that loves to binge-watch and regularly engage on social media, two measures that are particularly valuable for subscription platforms like Crunchyroll.

Crunchyroll was founded 20 years ago by a group of anime enthusiasts in Berkeley, California. Sony Corp. acquired Crunchyroll from AT&T’s Otter Media in 2021 and merged it with the company’s existing Funimation group, which created an anime powerhouse with a massive vault.

The burst of activity in the realm of anime, which is distinct from traditional animation, over the past year has been gratifying to those who have been working to advance the medium for decades. Many of them are Japanese artists, writers, directors, producers, actors and others who have traditionally worked largely in obscurity. But that is changing. As part of Anime Expo, Crunchyroll hosted a new product showcase at the Peacock Theater, which was packed with cheering fans. Anime artisans such as director Yuichiro Hayashi and star voice actors Taihi Kimura (“Kagurabachi”) and Aleks Le (“Solo Leveling: Beyond the System”) stood out. So was Raiki Murao, a college student anime creator from Nagoya who won the Crunchyroll Award in March at AnimeJapan’s Emerging Creator Awards.

On stage, looking out over a packed 7,000-seat theater as he received applause for the clip of his creation “One With the City,” Murao said through a translator, “I really feel the unity here.”

The boom has lifted Crunchyroll’s subscriber base to 21 million, a gain of 4 million in one year, as the company revealed in May. The fastest growing markets for the service in recent months have included Brazil, India, the United States and the Middle East. The production and distribution ecosystem around the creation of anime content, including print and digital graphic novels, is extensive in Japan and other parts of Asia, as evidenced on the Anime Expo exhibition floor.

“The recognition that the [‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’] “The creators got during their awards season – getting a Golden Globe nomination, being shortlisted for the BAFTAs, and just being in the Oscar conversation – to finally be able to have those creators, artists, and people who have poured their heart and soul into this art form for so long get more mainstream recognition and be in the conversation as a great form of animation was really gratifying,” Berger said. “It was just a great moment for the community.”

Crunchyroll’s Anime Awards event in Japan reached new heights of participation in its 10th^th year. In a sign of the times, the company opted to livestream the ceremony for free on YouTube and TikTok this year. Crunchyroll is working with parent company Sony to execute a 360-degree strategy by tying the streamer’s brand into monthly theatrical releases to draw fans into theaters. An in-person community experience at a local movie theater adds another dimension to the at-home streaming experience, which can feel isolating. Anime fans crave a mix of opportunities to interact with their favorite stories and characters.

“I don’t know of any other medium where people find so much of themselves. They don’t just love the stories and the characters: they find identity, they find community, they find belonging,” says Scott Donaton, senior vice president of global brand and community at Crunchyroll.

The medium, with its strong visual aesthetic and narrative underpinnings, has expanded to include a broader range of themes and tones. One of the upcoming titles unveiled at Crunchyroll’s Anime Expo was an edgy young adult drama adapted from the manga “The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy At All,” and licensed from the 1991 Nirvana song “Breed.” None other than Dave Grohl sent a video clip endorsing the deal and enthusing that “Kurt would have loved this,” in reference to late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

“About 80% of anime fans say they’ve deepened or made friendships because of anime, and that’s why things like this are so important, because these fans want to be together, they want to share that love and that joy,” Donaton says. “The appetite for anime continues to grow and this is a community that wants to be together in person.”

To that end, Crunchyroll has invested in its in-person activations around the world, with retailers and a wide range of fan events from Mumbai to London to São Paulo, as well as eye-catching sponsorship opportunities.

The company had by far the largest presence at Anime Expo. Their spacious exhibit floor setup included an animatronic anime character, hands-on games, and the “Dubbing Dojo” booth that allowed attendees to dub their voices into an anime scene.

Crunchyroll leaders, led by President Rahul Purini, have worked to understand the nuances of the fan and artist community that are essential to the success of anime properties. Berger and Donaton say they work to engage the community without exploiting or undermining Crunchroll’s carefully cultivated brand.

“We don’t want to be something for everyone; we want to be everything for someone,” Berger says. “That becomes the lens that drives our business goals, as well as what are the places (manga, theater, streaming, gaming, merchandise, live gatherings, and real-life events) where we can show up. Our whole thing is whatever anime fans want, wherever they want to be served, we want to help them connect with the stories they love.”