Toho to Launch Godzilla, Anime E

By Patrick Frater

Asia Bureau Chief

Toho International, an offshoot of the storied Japanese film and TV giant Toho, is to launch twin e-commerce sites serving the growing legion of North American fans of Japanese pop culture. One platform is specific to the Godzilla brand. The other, iiZO, will cater to a wider range of anime fans who will be served with original Japanese merchandize.

The moves are being headed by Kristin Parcell GM at Toho International, and her U.S.-based team who joined the firm from Crunchyroll at the end of last year. They foresee the twin initiatives as a business with $100 million of revenue within a few years. Their in-house operation comprises anime and “Godzilla” brand experts, and also includes specialist in merchandizing, buying and fashion. The sites go live at unspecified dates this summer.

The global anime market is projected to surpass $50 billion by 2030 and merchandising as a critical component driving the content market’s success. Some 28% of the sector’s revenue is estimated to have come from merchandizing in 2022 and there is huge demand for product innovation.

“Anime fans have this very unyielding appetite for merchandize. It’s a huge part of being an anime fan. And in the U.S., we still find that there are still very few retailers who offer a really good selection of officially-licensed merchandize and even fewer who will offer selections from Japan,” Parcell told Variety. “Toho International is in a unique position where we can work directly with partners in the U.S. but also partners in Japan and bring in some of these goods to satisfy this demand.”

Parcell says that the technical differences may be minor or a question of packaging, but details, language and aesthetics matter to die-hard fans.

iiZO, which translates roughly as Japanese for ‘Yeah,’ will carry anime merchandise both from the Toho Animation portfolio as well as third-party content. From the Toho Animation portfolio comes “My Hero Academia,” “Spy x Family,” and “Jujutsu Kaisen.” Merchandise from outside the group includes “Chainsaw Man” and “Attack on Titan.”

The Godzilla platform will include a mix of items from the Japanese Godzilla Store as well as international exclusives. The product selection will offer kaiju fans a more high-end, tailored e-commerce experience than they’ve had previously in the U.S., with items such as limited-edition collaborations, original licensed products, and exclusive colorways of existing fan-favorites.

“I really feel strongly that Godzilla deserves its own experience. And so, not only will we launch Godzilla store, so we’re essentially bringing the Godzilla store from Japan to the U.S. We’re also relaunching godzilla.com. That will be a very robust experience. The Godzilla fanbase [ranges from] five years old to 70 years old,” said Parcell. “That isn’t to say that I don’t plan to cross promote because I do believe that Godzilla fans will love anime and I want to expose both.”

Parcell does not share the financial details of her five-year plan, but says that internal forecasts are robust. “I love that a ceiling has not been realized. It could certainly be over $100 million. Those numbers are recognized. I truly believe that we can achieve those numbers given the current state of the market, the demand, the content and all of it. It’s very doable.”