Hollywood’s Hottest Business Is Once-Niche Anime

After decades on the fringes of pop culture in the West, anime has become one of Hollywood’s hottest businesses.

Crunchyroll, the largest streaming service dedicated to Japanese animation known as anime, boosted its subscriber base nearly 25% in the past year to 21 million, parent company Sony 6758 -1.43%decrease; down pointing triangle said Friday. Subscriber growth at bigger Hollywood streaming services has largely plateaued in the past year, and some have stopped disclosing numbers.