The Japan Video Software Association (JVA) released on Monday its 12-month statistical report on home video sales in Japan from January to December 2017. The report stated that domestic anime DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales for general audiences, excluding rental releases, amounted to 42.931 billion yen (about US$402.3 million), a 2.6% increase from 2016's 41.849 billion yen. (This category includes anime aimed at teenagers or older viewers, and excludes overseas animation and animation aimed at children.)

By contrast, the overall home video market (in all genres and media) in Japan in 2017 was 187.67 billion yen (US$1.758 billion), an 8.3% drop from the previous year. It was the 13th year in a row that the market shrank, and the market was about half its size from its peak of 375.3 billion yen in 2004. 2017 was also the first year since 1987 that the overall market was less than 200 billion yen.

Overall Blu-ray Disc retail sales totaled 83.215 billion yen (about US$778 million), a 0.5% decrease from 2016. Japanese anime for general audiences is the highest-selling Blu-ray Disc category with 40% of sales — a 3.9% increase from 2016. Overall DVD retail sales were 59.157 billion yen (about US$553 million), a 14.9% decrease from 2016. Japanese music DVDs were the highest selling DVD category at 36.4%, while Japanese anime is the second-highest selling category at 16.3% (a 1.7% decrease from 2016). (These numbers do not include releases through special routes, releases for rental stores, and business-to-business releases.)

In addition to Japanese animation for general audiences, home video sales for Japanese films and Japanese live-action television also grew. However, overseas animation for general audiences, Japanese animation for children, and overseas animation for children all declined.

Sales of Japanese anime for general audience were down 16.6% in the first half of 2017. However, the Animation Business Journal news website said that it expected sales in the latter half of the year to increase due to sales from hits such as your name. (released on July 26) and In This Corner of the World (released on September 15).