Anime franchises come in many shapes and sizes. Some are intended to tell a simple story while others are destined to become worldwide sensations that send ripples decades into the future. One of these proverbial ripples is anime's ability to become even more profitable by increasing its merchandising potential.

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Other times, anime is adapted from manga, video games, or other toys with the express intention to extend its reach among fans and hobbyists. Chances are, whatever one's favorite anime is, there's at least a little merchandise out there that can be collected by the most devout fans. But some anime are so marketable, they create global fanbases that are hungry for any and every piece of merchandise they can get their hands on.

10 The Pokémon Franchise Is A Worldwide Phenomenon

Pokemon Red & Blue Still Great

When Nintendo and The Pokémon Company launched the very first Pokémon games in the 1990s, they couldn't have possibly imagined it'd become the global behemoth it is today. The Pokémon franchise has been going strong ever since its introduction and has only expanded since then. With dozens of anime and games, a trading card game, and several types of clothing and toy merchandise under its name, Pokémon won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

9 Naruto's Popularity Keeps It Relevant

naruto toonami

Naruto ranks as the fourth best-selling manga series in history, and over 250 million copies have been sold worldwide. Its popularity as a series has allowed it to be marketed as several different types of merchandise, ranging from cosplay items and collectible figures to clothing and even eating utensils. And since Naruto enjoys popularity the world over, the anime sells merchandise on several different continents in dozens of countries. The anime was such a success that it inspired a sequel series, Boruto, based on Naruto Uzumaki's son.

8 Love Live! Has Selling Power Since It's An Idol Series

love live muse

The beauty of idol series when it comes to merchandising is the fact that you have a wide cast of characters with an abundance of personalities to appeal to a wide variety of fans. Not only that, but idol series tend to continue making music and other collectibles that fans can snatch up as they are released.

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Love Live! also has a popular gacha-based phone app rhythm game called Love Live! School Idol Festival that routinely releases new idol designs and music. There are nearly limitless possibilities to merchandise this franchise, and the anime series only served to spread Love Live!'s influence.

7 The Fate Media Franchise Has Become Huge

servants from fate stay night

Originally starting as the visual novel, Fate/stay night, in 2004, the Fate media franchise has exploded into several different games, novels, and anime spinoffs. With so many series under its umbrella, there's a bottomless well of content to draw from when it comes to merchandise. Clothing, figures, games, visual novels, and other memorabilia fit in nicely with this franchise. The visual novels have been ported to different gaming systems, and new games have been developed over the years, including fighting games and gacha phone app games.

6 Dragon Ball Is Merchandisable To All Ages

goku looking at the four star dragon ball

This franchise started back in 1984 and, just like Goku, has only become stronger over time. The Dragon Ball franchise includes all its various anime series and movies, all of which are enjoyed the world over. Collectible figures, clothing, children's action figures, and replicas of actual Dragon Balls are among the types of merchandise that Dragon Ball has birthed over the last 37 years. Its most recent anime series, Dragon Ball Super, ran from 2015 to 2018, and it's got an anime film in production for Japanese release in 2022.

5 Sailor Moon Has Generated Over $13 Billion In Worldwide Merchandise Sales

Sailor Moon And The Sailor Scouts Posing In Sailor Moon Anime

As a classic shojo series with the same fame that Dragon Ball has in the shonen genre, Sailor Moon has been credited with reviving the magical girl genre. With its focus on "girl power" and a mainly female cast that doesn't rely on men, Sailor Moon has effectively cemented itself as an empowering series for young girls. Accordingly, the series has spawned a massive wealth of merchandise, including clothing, figurines, manga, and popular Proplica toy replicas that recreate the Sailor Scouts' transformation wands and other paraphernalia.

4 Beyblade Was Made To Be Merchandisable

Beyblades

Based on beigoma, a type of traditional Japanese top, and the 1968 board game Battling Tops, Beyblade was conceptualized as a game before it was ever made into an anime. Manufacturer Takara released their Beyblade toy series in 1999 alongside an accompanying manga and rode the money wave from there.

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Beyblade is still surprisingly popular with children even to this day, with Takara Tomy's last anime entry, Beyblade Burst Rise, releasing in 2019. Each new anime is typically released the moment the most recent Beyblade toys hit the market. This series will go on as long as there are Beyblades to sell.

3 Digimon Was Inspired By Tamagotchi

Digimon Adventures 1999 Full Cast Taichi Sora Yamato Mimi Takeru Koushiro Jo

Some have referred to Digimon as a Pokémon rip-off, but the truth is that the two franchises were born around the same time. But unlike Pokémon, Digimon didn't start out as a video game. Instead, it was a virtual pet, similar to the Tamagotchi franchise that was released around the same time. Digimon's popularity eventually led to anime and manga series, which further propelled its merchandising potential. Now, Digimon is a healthy franchise that's still producing anime, figures, clothing, and other collectibles all over the world.

2 Pretty Cure Has 18 Different Anime Seasons To Date

Cure White Black Pretty Futari Wa Nagisa Misumi Honoka Yukishiro

Starting with Futari wa Pretty Cure in 2004, this franchise released its most anime, Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure, in February 2021. As a magical girl anime, it's especially appealing to children, so the franchise has spawned a multitude of toys, replicas, manga, and movies over the years. There isn't too much adult merchandise associated with this series, since the casts are always a group of pre-teen girls and the plots aren't too complicated, making it harder to market to older anime fans. Nevertheless, this series has endeared itself to children enough that new seasons are constantly being released every year.

Yami Yugi drawing a card from deck in Yu-Gi-Oh anime.

Although series creator Kazuki Takahashi never intended for the Duel Monsters card game to take center stage in Yu-Gi-Oh!, it's the one game he introduced in the manga that caught readers' attention most. The manga was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1996 to 2004 and started out featuring different games, including dice games, role-playing board games, and the famous trading card game that eventually stole the show. Since then, Konami has released new versions of the trading card game on a regular basis and the anime is currently airing its tenth anime iteration to the franchise.

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