CAPE TOWN—Africa’s film industry is undergoing an exciting sea change, thanks to Western investment.

Innovations in the African film industry are increasingly attracting the attention of creators of Japanese anime and manga.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of and demand for Japanese subcultures have been growing in the continent.

South Africa is a major center of such change.

'MAGICAL' SETTING

Under a deep blue sky in the Southern Hemisphere, a huge wooden ship with a large white sheep’s face sitting on the bow stands on the grounds of Cape Town Film Studios in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.

The iconic vessel is part of the set used in the live-action adaptation of the globally popular manga “One Piece” by Netflix, a major U.S. video distribution service.

Most of the footage of the movie, in which the main character, the pirate Luffy, and the swordsman Zoro, played by actor Mackenyu Arata, were shot on this set.

“Not many studios in the world can build this ship,” said Makkie Slamong, CEO of Cape Town Film Studios. “It was one of the main reasons why they choose our studio.”

Cape Town Film Studios is considered the largest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.

Covering an area of 600,000 square meters, or about 13 times the size of Tokyo Dome, it comprises five soundproof studios the size of a gymnasium, three swimming pools and various town sets.

Founded in 2010, the studio is one of the “newcomers” in the industry. Boasting a staff of about 20 people, more than 100 films, both domestic and international, have been shot there.

Steven John Ward, the South African actor who played the role of the swordsman Mihawk in the live-action “One Piece,” said, “Cape Town has everything from calm beaches to stormy seas. We have mountains and forests. You can literally move a few hundred meters and have a whole new location. It’s magical.”

'BLACK-OWNED, BLACK-MANAGED'

In recent years, the film industry, including Hollywood, has been emphasizing not only the content of movies, but also racial and gender diversity and a low environmental impact from the production stage. Investors and audiences are becoming increasingly critical.

Against the backdrop of these trends, the world is paying attention to Cape Town Film Studios, which takes advantage of a lush, green environment where precious birds and animals live.

“Cape Town Film Studios is black-owned and black-managed," Slamong said. "And there’s a big discussion in Hollywood about diversity.”

According to a Netflix report, the company invested a total of $175 million (about 25.9 billion yen) in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria from 2016 to 2022, creating 12,000 jobs.

In March 2023, while “One Piece” was being filmed, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the studio. According to local news reports, the president said the creative industry is the best field for job creation.

Slamong said with high hopes, “In South Africa or Africa, we are more competitive, and film companies have got better incentives. Cape Town Film Studios is Africans’ home for film. That’s what’s important to us.”

PANDEMIC CREATED OPPORTUNITY

Africa is expected to become not only a place to create entertainment content, but also a market to consume it.

Comic Con Africa, one of Africa’s largest subculture events, was held in late September in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city.

Stuffed animals and goods of the wildly popular Pikachu anime and Mario video game characters were lined up, and the venue was crowded with people dressed in costumes of various manga characters.

Dimona Wa Mukenyi, 17, an employee of Tamashii Nations, a company that sells Japanese figurines, said that the excitement about Japanese subcultures was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

People in South Africa faced a large-scale lockdown during the pandemic, increasing opportunities for many citizens to experience Japanese anime at home.

Three works that are particularly popular are "Damon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “One Piece,” Mukenyi said.

Exhibitors at the Comic Con included stores selling Nintendo and “Gundam” plastic models.

In the “fanzine” section, a science fiction hero manga modeled on South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, as well as manga magazines created by Zimbabwean artists based on the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, were on display.

Comic Con Africa was first held in 2018.

At the 2023 event, 335 organizations participated as exhibitors over the four days and more than 70,000 people visited. Both were record numbers.

1.4 BILLION PEOPLE AND DIASPORA MARKET

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) also participated in Comic Con Africa for the first time, setting up a booth.

The organization held about 50 business meetings with 12 local companies and offered lectures on drawing Japanese manga.

“It seems that it is mainly white people who spend money on subculture," said Mizuho Nakanishi, who works at the local JETRO office. "But there are also black people and Indian people at the venue, and the base seems to be expanding.”

Currently, there are many issues such as illegal downloading and pirated copies that ignore copyrights. This is because there are few distributors who cooperate with Japanese manufacturers and a supply network of legitimate products has not been established.

But beyond that point, there is a growing market for Japanese content creators looking to expand. 

The African continent is home to 1.4 billion people and is projected to account for nearly 40 percent of the world’s population by 2100.

Furthermore, the African diaspora, including immigrants, refugees and their descendants, are scattered throughout the world.

“Japanese produced-content already has a huge presence. But I think it will grow even bigger,” Ward said. “To be honest, I am trembling at the thought of its popularity.”