Crunchyroll's Mitchel Berger discusses anime with Deadline at Cannes

Yesterday, Crunchyroll's head of theatrical, Mitchel Berger, sat with Deadline's Nancy Tartaglione to discuss anime as a medium, the audience and how Japanese creativity has integrated into the larger market. 

Some of the highlights from the conversation with Berger are as follows:

“A lot of folks look at anime as a genre, and it’s not. It’s a medium. It’s a way of telling stories. There’s anything you want within it... And, anime is a fandom built around the community and the belonging it brings — not a single IP. That passion and sense of identity is what makes it truly special.”

“Our partners in Japan, our licensors, are creating amazing content over and over again. And, we're growing the fan base, and then you have shows like Demon Slayer or Solo Leveling, which are incredibly high quality and really resonate with the fan base. It feeds the existing fan base, but also brings new fans in. And as the market grows, we create even more content. So it's this wonderful virtuous circle of content: creating fans, fans creating other fans, and that fandom creating content. And we love that, and that's what's driven the growth over the last few years.”

“We look at this fandom as a lifestyle. Whether it’s streaming, theatrical, games, merchandise, or events — we want to be where the fans are.” 

“There’s no gatekeeping in anime. The community wants to bring people in, to share the love — and that spirit of inclusion is core to what makes this fandom thrive.”

“In the United States, 42% of Gen Z and Alpha watch anime every week — that’s a higher percentage than those who watch the NFL… It was eye-opening for me to see how much anime resonates with younger audiences — how integral it is to their identity and who they are…. We’re also now seeing parents who grew up with Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon sharing anime with their kids. It’s becoming generational.”

“A show like Demon Slayer feeds the existing fan base, brings in new fans, and drives the creation of more content. It’s a virtuous circle. It was a cultural validation moment — when fans saw Demon Slayer break box office records, it confirmed that anime belonged on the global stage.”

“Infinity Castle will launch in Japan in July, with most of the world rolling out around September 12 — give or take a week — in partnership with Sony Pictures. Being part of the Sony family has accelerated our ability to grow and reach fans. Our work with Sony Pictures and Aniplex on projects like Infinity Castle has been game-changing.”

“We see huge potential in India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Anime resonates globally — and it’s only just beginning to scale.”

It's heartening to hear a positive spin on anime at a global festival such as Cannes, especially following the interview at Anime Corner with ex-Crunchyroll producer Marisa Balkus who stated that anime was looked down on by certain generations in Hollywood. 

Let's hope the positivity continues given the exceptional cinema performances of Gundam Seed: Freedom, Demon Slayer, One Piece and Dragon Ball Super.