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The Japanese industry’s approach differs markedly from North America’s. When launching an anime or manga series, Japanese producers often collaborate closely with toy manufacturers, video game developers, and tabletop game creators right at the outset. This strategic planning helps determine whether a series will have strong merchandise potential—sometimes even influencing whether the show gets greenlit.
In contrast, American comics historically focus more on print sales, digital downloads, and subscriptions, with merchandise being secondary or only associated with a few big characters like Batman or Spider-Man. Even then, the scale of merchandising revenue often isn't emphasized to the same extent as in Japan.