Guzi is very popular, what are the popular IPs in the Gu circle?

Not all IPs are suitable for millet

There is no doubt that millet is a product category that has received much attention this year, and it has attracted widespread attention in various industries. When various industries noticed that young people were willing to do their best to "eat millet" and even preferred to live a frugal life, people began to think that this was a hot spot and a trend that was worth investing in and planning.

It is true that young people are very enthusiastic about millets and they are so fond of them that they would spend a fortune just for what they love. However, all of this has its prerequisites. The so-called millets refer to the peripheral products of the second dimension, and the second dimension category basically covers animation, comics, games and novels. The second dimension field contains a lot of content, and the important factor that affects young people's choice of "which millet to eat" is the IP to which the millet belongs.

In other words, whether the ACG IP image meets the preferences of young people will affect their purchasing decisions; and the popularity of the ACG IP image determines the sales of the millet. Therefore, not all IPs are suitable for developing into millet products, and not all millets developed from IPs can be purchased by consumers.

In order to understand young people's preference for ACG IPs, I combined information from Weibo Super Topic, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Tmall/Taobao and other platforms, and sorted out the 35 popular IPs in the current circle. Through these IPs, we can better understand young people's preferences for ACG IPs.

Japanese comics have an absolute advantage

It is said that today's young people do not grow up watching Japanese comics and animations like those born in the 80s and 90s. However, in the field of ACG culture, Japan is obviously more mature, and the word "guzi" (referring to people who like ACG culture) itself originated from Japan, so most of the IPs (intellectual property) popular in the guzi circle also come from Japan.

Japanese anime has made a huge contribution to the IP of the TV industry. For example, classic works such as "Attack on Titan", "Naruto", "Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Detective Conan", and "Cardcaptor Sakura" are not only the memories of those born in the 1980s and 1990s, but also continue to attract the hearts of more young people.

∆ "Attack on Titan" Gu Zi

For example, popular works in recent years such as "Jujutsu Kaisen", "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba", "Chiikawa", "Blue Prison", "Bungo Stray Dogs" and "Spy x House" have not only caused a sensation in the gaming circle, but are also highly respected in the entire licensing market.

Works like "Haikyuu!!", "Free!", "Puella Magi Madoka Magica", "Lone Rock", "Tokyo Avengers" and "Psycho Psycho 100" are slightly different from the aforementioned works in terms of classicism and popularity, but they are also quite representative Japanese anime.

For example, "Haikyuu!!" is a representative work of sports and passionate Japanese anime; "Free!" tells the story of youth struggle in school; "Tokyo Ghoul" is a horror animation, and "Lone Rock" focuses on the growth and struggle of a lonely girl in music.

These Japanese animations are of various types, covering passion, adventure, reasoning, mecha, magic, sports, music, science fiction, life and healing, etc., which can satisfy audiences with different preferences. This is also one of the important reasons why Japanese animation has an absolute advantage in the industry.

∆《Blue Prison》Gu Zi

In addition to the Japanese anime works mentioned above, there is another non-anime IP image from Japan that has attracted much attention, that is the virtual idol "Hatsune Miku". According to public data, Hatsune Miku was launched in 2007 and held its first performance in Shanghai, mainland China in 2015, attracting more than 1.5 million viewers. After more than ten years of development, "Hatsune Miku" is still the most influential in the field of virtual idols, and its fans include not only women, but also many male followers.

∆ Hatsune Miku

Domestic games perform strongly

Games are an important part of the ACG culture and the main source of IP in the Valley Circle. Among the 35 popular IPs, there are 8 game IPs, and all of them are from mainland China.

By analyzing these 8 games, I found that except for "Honkai Impact 3" which was launched in 2016, the other 7 games were released after 2020. As we all know, 2020 was the first year of the outbreak of the epidemic. After that, people had to "stay at home", which led to a significant increase in the daily activity of mobile games and attracted many new users.

In terms of genre, "Honkai Impact 3" is a role-playing game, while "Honkai Impact 3rd" and "Genshin Impact" have adventure attributes; "Codename Kite" and "Back to the Future: 1999" are card games and will be released in 2023; as for "Light of Night", "Love and Space" and "Beyond the World", they are all mobile games for women, and the latter two were only released in January this year.

∆ "Genshin Impact" acrylic pendant

In addition to games that emphasize the female label, other games also take into account the preferences of female players. For example, the player character in "Codename Kite" is set as "King of Guangling", a woman who disguises herself as a man and works for the emperor as the "master of Xiuyi Building". The five protagonists in the game are all male. In addition, the player character in "Back to the Future: 1999" is also set as a powerful woman who can control many characters in the game to fight and other activities.

∆《Outside the World》Acrylic Decorative Painting

Chinese comic novels are emerging

In recent years, many platforms and studios have been strengthening the creation of domestic animation, but most domestic animation is adapted from novels, and original works are very rare. Among these 35 popular IPs, 7 IPs are derived from domestic animation novels, 5 of which are adapted from novels, 1 IP is adapted from comics, and 1 is completely original.

The five IPs derived from novels are "Grave Robbers' Chronicles", "The King's Avatar", "Heaven Official's Blessing", "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" and "The Mermaid Falls". The first four works have been adapted into cartoons, and "The Mermaid Falls" has been adapted into a comic. These five original novels have considerable influence in their respective fields. For example, "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" is a representative work of tomb-robbing themes, and "The King's Avatar" is the pinnacle of e-sports themes. The reader base of these original novels has promoted the popularity of the corresponding cartoons to a certain extent.

∆《The King's Avatar》

"Inhuman" is a four-frame comic work created by Qiu Qiu. It was serialized in 2015 and adapted into an animation work for online broadcast in 2018. This work shows the hilarious daily life of Chinese gods and monsters in contemporary life. Its distinctive features are its unique conception and frequent jokes. Since its serialization, it has accumulated millions of fans.

The original Chinese animation selected as one of the popular IPs in the Valley Circle is "Time Agent", which was jointly produced by Bilibili and Bimeng, produced by Lanyinghua, launched in 2021, and has aired two seasons with a total of 24 episodes. This animation belongs to the categories of healing, fantasy and suspense. On the B station platform, the two seasons of "Time Agent" have been played 550 million times, with 4.214 million barrage comments and more than 9.38 million viewers. In addition, the animation has also spawned comics and live-action TV series.

∆ "Time Agent" is popular on B station

The above lists 34 well-known IPs that have attracted much attention, and the last IP comes from the American "My Little Pony". In the first half of this year, with the hot sales of "My Little Pony" cards, related derivative products have also ushered in a wave of popularity. For this IP, many people may think that it belongs to the category of young children, but according to the introduction of terminal channel dealers, the main buyers of "My Little Pony" peripheral products are older students and young women.

To sum up, if the industry wants to develop millet, it is very important to choose the right IP. For example, in the case of Japanese comics, either choose those that have been very popular in recent years, or choose classic works with an audience base. However, it is also important to keep in mind that there are many competitors for popular IPs, and it will be more difficult to obtain authorization. It is uncertain how fans of classic works will accept millet, and companies have to bear greater risks.

In addition, attention should be paid to the preferences of female consumers. Among the above IPs, from Japanese comics to games, to Chinese comics and "My Little Pony", IPs with female audiences account for a large proportion. Compared with men who prefer works of passionate, adventurous and other types, women are more involved in a wider range of types. They can watch beautiful women and handsome men, and are also willing to watch cute babies and cute pets. They can also accept reasoning, suspense, thriller, adventure, etc. Therefore, if companies want to lay out millet, they can consider images with female audiences.

The sales of millet depends on the popularity of its IP, the number of audiences, etc., but the popularity of IP will not remain unchanged, and not all fans of IP are loyal. Enterprises need to consider the risk of losses due to the decline of IP popularity and the sharp decrease in the number of fans.

Reference source: China and foreign IP licensing Shenzhen Exhibition Aries

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