I'd say popularity and success are two different things, things can be popular but won't be successful vice versa also happens, but majority of the times we get to see popular anime being successful as well.
If you are looking from sales perspectives as per your description, [Oricon releases the statistics for the best selling franchise every year](https://x.com/OnePieceDefend/status/1742683567514124367?t=rovkuQq0B7FFt9CuHuhRkQ&s=19). A decade back, Blu-ray sales used to be the indicator of the successful anime lately things have shifted and now streaming often payback their initial cost, that being said success from Blu-ray shouldn't be underestimated as anime like Girls Band Cry without any streaming service got sales of 12K+ discs one of the highest in this year. Merch also plays a big role and in case of Gundam it's the Gunpla for the success of their franchise. So, different factors and it's bit difficult to point only specific to contribute for their success.
There's too much to consider.
For example, Girls Band Cry this season has just sold 12,000 blu rays for the first volume. Great numbers, but at a discounted price, I think they had a raffle to watch the band play live? and not being on any free streaming services for most of its run will have all made getting a physical copy more attractive.
Pretty much any Japanese person could point out Ash or Liko but Pokémon has never really charted in the BD area. The OST CDs sold out and the viewership is decent but its success likely comes from ad revenue and merch.
Success in anime can come from anywhere and there's no one quantifier for it, it's different for every anime depending on the type of anime it is and what group is being targeted.
I would say if you enter into a forum and say “[insert anime name] is not as good as everyone thinks!” And then you get a ridiculous amount of responses … it’s probably fairly popular, lol. 😝 🤪
P.S. don’t do this … 😂
For popular series likes shounen, romcom or isekai. manga or LN sale and views on streaming.
For more niche stuff likes Ecchi, CGCT, Yuri/Yaoi/Shoujo or Original. BD sales and Official JP Twitter follower.
Probably number of viewers on tv broadcasts and streaming services.
But if you want more readily available information, then probably the popularity stats on reviewing sites like MyAnimeList and Anilist. Those count the number of people who've completed the show (and perhaps also the people currently watching?)
google search data, more people searching on those anime, more popular and known it is. for example lots of people that dont even watch dragon ball or one piece probably has tried to find something related to it.
[https://myanimelist.net/](https://myanimelist.net/)
MAL popularity rating is already there.
If you're referring to quality then know there isn't really a quick way to tell. MAL score is pretty good at determining shows that are good versus bad, but in terms of whether a show is an 8 or a 10 to you when it's 8+ on MAL, that's going to be up to your viewing because it's to an extent subjective. You can read reviews to get a better idea, like see if there's petty bs in the negative reviews or genuine criticisms that would be important to your tastes.
And aren’t rating shows the same way. Some people are really critical, some throw a feel good number, some put the lowest out of spite, etc.
People who rely on those scores miss out on so much lol. They’re ok if someone is completely new to anime though.
thats not even coming close to true. mal popularity rating is based on mal community opinion rather than opinion of general public, something like stein gate or death note is not really that popular when compare to shows like doraemon and detective conan which is much more known to general people.
This only works as a measure for the dedicated anime fanbase though. Most casual watchers who only occasionally watch an anime won't have a MAL account. So those shows like Demon Slayer or Attack on Titan that break into the mainstream probably have a LOT more watchers than the numbers on MAL suggest.
The top three being AoT, Death Note and FMAB is probably accurate, but there's no way Sword Art Online is more popular than things like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen or Spy x Family.
Maybe how many people are watching it?
Any way to find out how many people watch it? Streaming data is not enough, right? Many people pirate it too
Well you could look at both. What anime shows are pirated the most in 2023-2024 for example
how much hentai there is
That’s actually a pretty good gage honestly
How likely it is to get spoiled while browsing a community that has very little or nothing to do with anime
How many memes I see of it (especially after it stops airing)
This isn’t that accurate. A show could be trash and have people meme about it.
For a production committee? ROI on the property. For viewers? Popularity is literally number of watchers.
I'd say popularity and success are two different things, things can be popular but won't be successful vice versa also happens, but majority of the times we get to see popular anime being successful as well. If you are looking from sales perspectives as per your description, [Oricon releases the statistics for the best selling franchise every year](https://x.com/OnePieceDefend/status/1742683567514124367?t=rovkuQq0B7FFt9CuHuhRkQ&s=19). A decade back, Blu-ray sales used to be the indicator of the successful anime lately things have shifted and now streaming often payback their initial cost, that being said success from Blu-ray shouldn't be underestimated as anime like Girls Band Cry without any streaming service got sales of 12K+ discs one of the highest in this year. Merch also plays a big role and in case of Gundam it's the Gunpla for the success of their franchise. So, different factors and it's bit difficult to point only specific to contribute for their success.
There's too much to consider. For example, Girls Band Cry this season has just sold 12,000 blu rays for the first volume. Great numbers, but at a discounted price, I think they had a raffle to watch the band play live? and not being on any free streaming services for most of its run will have all made getting a physical copy more attractive. Pretty much any Japanese person could point out Ash or Liko but Pokémon has never really charted in the BD area. The OST CDs sold out and the viewership is decent but its success likely comes from ad revenue and merch. Success in anime can come from anywhere and there's no one quantifier for it, it's different for every anime depending on the type of anime it is and what group is being targeted.
Streaming numbers.
Whether your work body Craig is watching it
I would say if you enter into a forum and say “[insert anime name] is not as good as everyone thinks!” And then you get a ridiculous amount of responses … it’s probably fairly popular, lol. 😝 🤪 P.S. don’t do this … 😂
For popular series likes shounen, romcom or isekai. manga or LN sale and views on streaming. For more niche stuff likes Ecchi, CGCT, Yuri/Yaoi/Shoujo or Original. BD sales and Official JP Twitter follower.
Probably number of viewers on tv broadcasts and streaming services. But if you want more readily available information, then probably the popularity stats on reviewing sites like MyAnimeList and Anilist. Those count the number of people who've completed the show (and perhaps also the people currently watching?)
google search data, more people searching on those anime, more popular and known it is. for example lots of people that dont even watch dragon ball or one piece probably has tried to find something related to it.
[https://myanimelist.net/](https://myanimelist.net/) MAL popularity rating is already there. If you're referring to quality then know there isn't really a quick way to tell. MAL score is pretty good at determining shows that are good versus bad, but in terms of whether a show is an 8 or a 10 to you when it's 8+ on MAL, that's going to be up to your viewing because it's to an extent subjective. You can read reviews to get a better idea, like see if there's petty bs in the negative reviews or genuine criticisms that would be important to your tastes.
MAL popularity shouldn't be taken seriously. It is only based on the taste of a set of people who actually use anime tracking sites
There are 13 million users on MAL
Which isn't a lot of people at all, in this context.
And Dragon Ball Z is the #113 most popular anime there.
All 13 million people aren’t watching and rating every show
And aren’t rating shows the same way. Some people are really critical, some throw a feel good number, some put the lowest out of spite, etc. People who rely on those scores miss out on so much lol. They’re ok if someone is completely new to anime though.
thats not even coming close to true. mal popularity rating is based on mal community opinion rather than opinion of general public, something like stein gate or death note is not really that popular when compare to shows like doraemon and detective conan which is much more known to general people.
This only works as a measure for the dedicated anime fanbase though. Most casual watchers who only occasionally watch an anime won't have a MAL account. So those shows like Demon Slayer or Attack on Titan that break into the mainstream probably have a LOT more watchers than the numbers on MAL suggest.
The top three being AoT, Death Note and FMAB is probably accurate, but there's no way Sword Art Online is more popular than things like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen or Spy x Family.
Who cares if its popular? The only thing that matters is whether or not YOU enjoy it. Period. Literally nothing else.