Social Media Is Changing How Anime Fans Discover and Share Their Fandom

Anime fandom used to require a little searching: catching a late-night Toonami broadcast, borrowing a tape or finding fan-subtitled episodes online. Now a few seconds of video can do the work. A viewer might first meet a series through a TikTok edit, a figure skater’s character reference or a song inspired by Jujutsu Kaisen. Social media hasn’t created the appetite for anime, but it has made that appetite easier to see—and easier for someone new to follow.

That change came into focus at Crunchyroll’s Anime Future Forum in New York, where rapper Big Sean, Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn and creator Jordan Howlett discussed the people shaping anime fandom. Their routes into the medium differ. Their experiences point to a shared shift: anime can now reach people through their existing interests and online communities, without them first deciding to seek out a show.

From scheduled television to algorithmic discovery

Big Sean’s introduction came through television. “I’m a Toonami kid,” he said, recalling Dragon Ball Z, Cowboy Bebop, Gundam Wing and YuYu Hakusho, which he recently revisited. Those stories resonated with him and his friends in Detroit because their characters faced adversity and kept pushing when the odds looked impossible. Anime remained part of his life and music career; he also recalled the surreal moment when Sean Schemmel, the English-language voice of Goku, visited his home while he was working on an album.

American audiences have had access to anime for decades. Astro Boy appeared on U.S. television in 1963. VHS trading and conventions helped communities grow, and Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Toonami brought Japanese animation to a broader generation in the late 1990s. Streaming has since made it easier to watch. Crunchyroll has also expanded into digital manga, with a platform offering more than 250 English titles, as described in [its manga app coverage](https://mashable.com/article/crunchyroll-manga-app).

The commercial reach is visible in theaters, too. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle grossed nearly $794 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing anime film to date, according to [Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl53837825/). Yet access to a streaming catalog or a cinema release only solves part of the discovery problem. Social platforms can put a scene in front of someone who wasn’t looking for anime in the first place.

Howlett described that path through Solo Leveling. Fan clips caught his attention; a second encounter convinced him to find the show. He saved its name on his phone so he wouldn’t forget, and he’s now working his way through its dungeons. That small sequence—clip, curiosity, search, viewing—is becoming a familiar entry point.

Fan edits are especially effective because they compress a show’s emotional pitch. A few seconds can suggest a character’s growth, a fight’s stakes or a moment of longing, often through music and fast transitions. The viewer may not know the context, but the edit can make the original story feel worth finding. One memorable edit, a character-focused arc, and clips built around tension or yearning show how much interpretation fans can fit into a short format.

Glenn sees those edits as creative work in their own right. “There are edits of anime that make me feel more than like an entire movie could,” she said. The emotions she finds in them can inform her skating. She’s also a cosplayer, with costumes based on Qifrey from Witch Hat Atelier and Yor and Loid Forger from Spy x Family. During her Olympic run, she shared her enthusiasm for Maki Zenin from Jujutsu Kaisen. The anime-inspired Japanese ice show One Piece on Ice offers another direct meeting point between her sport and the medium.

The numbers suggest that sharing and discovery are reinforcing each other. TikTok has nearly 178 million videos tagged #anime, while Threads has an anime community of more than 531,000 members. Crunchyroll’s 2026 Global State of Anime Fandom study, conducted by National Research Group, found that 77 percent of surveyed viewers had recommended anime to someone who hadn’t watched it before. Two-thirds of international fans said they watched more anime than they had three years earlier. Hub Entertainment Research reported that 39 percent of people aged 16 to 24 regularly watch anime, compared with 21 percent of the general population.

Crunchyroll counted more than 21 million paid subscribers worldwide as of March 2026. That subscriber base reflects the reach of dedicated viewing services; social platforms help create the initial interest that can lead a viewer there. For someone encountering the medium by chance, the jump from a clip to a complete series is now a short one.

Fandom becomes part of a public identity

Discovery is only half the change. Online platforms also give fans more ways to show what they care about, through cosplay, makeup, art, commentary and debate. Glenn’s relationship with anime began with the 2016 figure-skating series Yuri!!! on Ice. She met members of its creative team during pre-production for a sequel that was later canceled in 2024. Talking with them about skating strengthened an interest that would eventually become part of how audiences recognized her.

For a long time, Glenn was a skater with a nerdy side. As people became more interested in her life beyond the ice, that side became more visible. She received a large amount of anime merchandise after the Olympics and found opportunities to introduce other people to series they might not otherwise have tried. Her Instagram post is one example of how a personal interest can travel beyond a fan’s usual circle.

Howlett had a similar experience when a red-carpet conversation about his favorite Dragon Ball Z game and his affection for Vegeta drew a wave of responses. Fans sent opinions and extended character debates. A casual answer became an opening into a larger conversation—and a reminder that fandom is often as much about discussing a story as watching it.

That social layer helps explain why anime works well on platforms built around response and remixing. Fans argue for their favorite characters, make art and costumes, and reinterpret scenes for new audiences. The connections can then move offline. At Anime NYC, attendees meet artists, join panels and show their cosplay. The convention reported 172,000 visits across its four-day 2026 event, up from 148,000 in 2025, according to [Nerd Caliber’s coverage](https://www.nerdcaliber.com/animenyc-2026-by-gamesngirls-part-1/). Online conversations can turn into friendships and meetups among people who might never have found one another otherwise.

More visibility doesn’t make every community welcoming. Gatekeeping still happens, and Megan Thee Stallion has faced sexist reactions to her anime fandom, as [Teen Vogue reported](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/state-of-anime-mainstream-report-megan-thee-stallion-crunchyroll-awards). The change is that fans have more routes to find supportive circles, including people who don’t identify with a traditional fan community.

Anime references move into sport and film

Anime’s public presence now reaches well beyond fan feeds. Glenn pointed to athletes who bring references into competition: sprinter Noah Lyles has celebrated wins with Dragon Ball Z’s Kamehameha pose and shown Yu-Gi-Oh! cards before races; tennis star Naomi Osaka used magical-girl aesthetics in outfits at the 2024 U.S. Open. NBA player Cooper Flagg has said Crunchyroll is his most-used app and expressed his love for One Piece. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson used a team TikTok to make his case that Dragon Ball Z fighters could beat Omni-Man.

Filmmakers have drawn on the same visual language. Michael B. Jordan cited Naruto, Dragon Ball Z and Hajime no Ippo as influences on the boxing sequences in his 2023 directorial debut, Creed III. The connection goes beyond poses and action. Many anime stories center on an underdog who meets overwhelming odds, works past perceived limits and refuses to quit—a structure that translates readily to sport and film.

That theme has personal weight for the panelists. Big Sean described anime as a source of motivation, particularly its stories about finding potential and overcoming limits set by others. Howlett said Naruto helped him through childhood bullying and loneliness. “When I was introduced to Naruto for the first time, the story inspired me,” he said. “I felt so connected to these characters. It was my first introduction to really understanding a story and feeling like I was part of it.”

Social media hasn’t supplied the passion behind anime fandom. It has changed how that passion travels: a performance reference can prompt a search, a short edit can lead to a full season, and a public conversation can invite newcomers into a community. Howlett’s advice to fans was simple: share what you love. For people discovering anime through a feed, that invitation may be the start of the story.

Related reading: Why Gachiakuta stands out among recent shōnen anime and how online attention helped Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle reach a wide audience.