While Hollywood tries to figure out what to do with animation, the medium’s independent scene is apparently thriving on YouTube.
A recent report from the company’s Trends and Culture team dug into the indie boom for shows like Amazing Digital Circus (whose final episode hits theaters in June) and Helluva Boss. A survey conducted in April 2025 shows 61% of animation fans between the ages of 14 and 24 are more into works from indie creators rather than ones from a major studio. Many of these shows, like the Korean-made, YouTube-first series Alien Stage, have big international audiences, while others have successfully expanded by simultaneously launching on alternate platforms like Prime Video or Netflix.
In that same 14-24 age range, fans are watching indie animation in different ways: on a weekly basis, 66% watch animated memes; 57% watch animatics (rough sketches, think Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to Be a Magical Girl); and 63% watch fully animated episodes. Also, 50% of animation fans ages 14-49 also watch their favorite online shows in non-native languages.
Territory-wise, YouTube’s report called attention to popular indies like the US-made Helluva Boss, Brazil’s Sociedade Da Virtude, and so on. It also touched on VTubers as a part of the ecosystem and how indie creators have leaned into their individual communities with memes, crowdfunding, and the like. Throughout the report, YouTube makes sure to highlight these shows and creators for “[making] original characters and stories with engaged fan communities [that] show what it takes to be successful in entertainment today.”
For animation fans, YouTube’s breakdown shows what they’ve suspected for a while, that independent works are becoming the new hotness needed more than ever. And for creatives, the report’s useful for making a project that could find an audience or even a foot into the industry.
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