🌅 Anime Content Is Now a Health Treatment

SOURCE

Luminopia

WHAT TO KNOW

• Digital health company Luminopia is partnering with streaming service Crunchyroll to bring anime to its platform, diversifying the content available to children as a treatment for amblyopia, or lazy eye. Crunchyroll content will now be available on the platform alongside programming from Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, Sesame Workshop, and Pokémon.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Amblyopia affects around 1 million kids in the U.S, and is the leading cause of vision loss in children. For decades, the standard treatment has been to cover a child’s “good eye” with an eye patch as they go about their daily lives in an attempt to force the other eye to catch up. Luminopia’s FDA-approved treatment works very differently, allowing children to watch TV with a VR headset for an hour a day, six days a week, to promote weaker eye usage and encourage the brain to use both eyes together. It also encourages children to stick with their therapy by offering a treatment they actually enjoy.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• The partnership is the latest sign that anime’s popularity is growing in the U.S. In September, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle opened to $70 million in North America, making it one of the year’s biggest domestic openings (it’s now brought in an estimated $133 million domestically and a staggering $670 million worldwide). Just a month later, Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc opened to $18 million in North America, beating all other premieres that weekend (it’s also become the fastest anime movie to reach $100 million globally).