To the surprise of many fans, the latest report of weekly anime Blu-ray sales showed the Minions movie outranking all other titles in sales numbers for Japan. It is uncertain why the country has remained so adamant about Minions with sales figures of media and merchandise remaining strong since the official release of the movie in the region. Analysts suggest that the title’s strong sales could be due to the extra attention the movie has gotten due to the home release of Despicable Me 3 being slated for later this year.

Ranked second, also with a strong showing, was the Pingu 30 Shunen Special Boxset whose sales were mostly attributed to the overall recent praise surrounding the airing Pingu in the City.

Current Week’s Top Ranked Blu-ray Anime Sales for Japan:

59,582 Minions

34,295 Pingu 30 Shunen Special Box

19,439 Cars 3

8,904 Eromanga Sensei Vol.5

2,493 Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni

1,384 Kimi no Na Wa

1,194 Owarimonogatari Vol.6

749 Made in Abyss Blu-ray Box 1

Japanese audiences continued to praise Minions for its humor and visual style reflecting the growing trend toward ‘moe’ styled anime among fans.

“Those minions are just too cute,” local Tokyo resident Ayane Yoshino told Anime Maru, proudly displaying her recent purchase of a Minions Blu-ray disc. “I just find them to be really funny and amusing. My daughter really loves them too!”

“I feel kind of discouraged when I see these numbers to be honest,” stated self proclaimed otaku Tomiko Sumida. “Pingu is just an overall more charming and iconic character. I feel cheated not seeing an anime that so clearly deserves it not getting the top spot.”

Disgruntled Pingu fans aside, the Minions franchise seems to have a bright future ahead for itself in Japan. Universal Pictures, the distributors of the film, were optimistic about future sales and stated intentions to increase promotion in the Asia region for the holidays. American anime fans, however, took to the news as confirmation that perhaps Japan really does have poor taste after all.

Share this: Facebook

Reddit

Twitter

Email

