Adults Who Haven't Forgotten Their "Childlike Hearts": What Are the Desires of "Kids × Adults = Kidults"?

Dentsu Inc. Desire Design (DDD) is an organization that develops various solutions and disseminates information based on the relationship between consumption and desire.

Starting with the 21st installment, we analyze DDD's "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey," sharing insights and findings derived from the survey results.

This time, the theme is "Kidults" (Kids × Adults) – adults who haven't forgotten their "childlike spirit." Yukito Kanazawa of DDD explores the characteristics of consumer behavior in the toy market, combining insights from the 10th survey conducted in May 2025.

Domestic toy market size reaches 1.0992 trillion yen!
Long-running content-based "card games" are driving strong performance

Recently, I've been paying attention to the term "Kidult." This is a portmanteau of "Kids" and "Adult," referring to people who continue to enjoy toys, games, anime, character goods, and other things they loved as children in various ways even as adults. Speaking for myself, I still enjoy anime and games, so I probably fit into this "Kidult" category.

As mentioned in the 21st article, many people in Japan feel they lack the money to do or buy what they want, partly due to rising prices. On the other hand, according to the Japan Toy Association, the domestic toy market size for fiscal year 2024 grew significantly to ¥1.0992 trillion, a 7.9% increase from the previous year, showing strong performance.

It's still fresh in our memory that the domestic toy market surpassed 1 trillion yen for the first time in fiscal 2023. Toy sales remain strong even amid a declining birthrate. The market has grown for five consecutive years since fiscal 2019, setting a new record high since the current market size survey began in 2001.

A major factor behind this strong performance is "card games and trading cards." This segment grew by ¥25 billion from the previous year, expanding into a ¥300 billion market and now accounts for 27.5% of the overall market.

Next in terms of significant growth was the "Character Goods" segment, which increased by 13.8 billion yen to a 78.5 billion yen market. The "Miscellaneous Goods" segment also expanded by 12.4 billion yen to a 104.7 billion yen market, driven by growth in variety products centered around character-themed miscellaneous goods.

Many of these card games, trading cards, and character goods feature content that has enjoyed long-term popularity. This clearly indicates marketing is targeting "kidults" – adults who retain the "childlike heart" of their youth.

The demographic with "kidult desires" tends to be predominantly men in their 30s and older.

People who continue enjoying toys, games, anime, and character goods into adulthood have traditionally been called "otaku." While this term remains prevalent, a new phenomenon called "kidults" has emerged, now driving the toy market. What desires underlie this phenomenon? We examined the results of the "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey" from May 2025.

First, we examined the item asking, "What changes occurred in yourself or your life triggered by the purchase that moved you the most?" Among the changes listed, the option "I felt a renewed desire to revisit things I used to love" resonated with many respondents, particularly men in their 30s.

Furthermore, in the free-answer section asking what products, services, or content most moved their hearts, many respondents—primarily men in their 30s (though extending up to men in their 60s)—answered "games." Combining this with the previous item reveals that the "kidult desire" trend is particularly pronounced in the gaming preferences of men aged 30 and above.

Specific game titles included new releases, of course, but many were long-running hits popular for decades or remasters of past titles. Free-response answers also included:

"A game I played for the first time in about 15 years. I felt like playing it again after so long and bought it."
"I wanted to experience the nostalgia of a game I played often as a child, combined with the excitement of new graphics and controls."
"It made me nostalgic for games I used to play."
"I bought it for the nostalgic feeling and excitement. I hoped to immerse myself and forget about daily life."

There were several comments like these.

The toy market's strong performance is partly driven by the fact that games and character goods can "continue to grow."

The toy market's strength is being driven by "kidults," so I think many manufacturers are also developing nostalgic products and content targeting this demographic. Those in their 30s to 60s are the baby boomer junior to ice age generation who spent their youth in the 1980s to 2000s. Considering the population size of this generation, their influence is likely significant.

On the other hand, the environment now supporting the continuous evolution of toys, games, anime, and character goods is also considered a factor in this strength.

One aspect of this environment is the evolution of subscription services. Beyond anime and manga, past classics are now readily accessible anytime. Furthermore, game subscriptions like Nintendo Switch Online are rapidly expanding. Personally, I'm devouring classic titles I missed back in the day.

Another factor is the existence of loosely connected communities, like "fandom activities" and "fandom circles," now visible on social media. It's become a world where you can instantly see that toys, games, anime, and character goods you thought were relics of the past are actually trending again and still being enjoyed today. This environment makes it easy to feel that nostalgic enjoyment.

With this environment in place, I feel we're seeing more phenomena where products and content, which would typically end their life cycle after initial consumption, now continuously evolve through new versions or expansions, or achieve revivals and comebacks.

Could this trend spread to fashion and food? Potential expansion from the "Kidult" phenomenon

The "kidult" phenomenon likely stems from a desire to revisit and enjoy "things one bought and played with in the past."

While this is one hypothesis, it may stem from the fact that children back then couldn't always acquire every nostalgic item they desired. Reflecting on my own childhood, toys and games were often forbidden by parents, and as time passed, we mentally outgrew them, losing the chance to purchase them later.

However, today's environment allows for the continuous evolution or revival of these products and content. Driven by this situation, adults continue to feel their desire to purchase stimulated. "Kidults"—adults with disposable income—are buying these products, almost as if to "welcome back their childhood desires."

While this phenomenon is most active in the toy market right now, considering trends like "Y2K"※1 and "archival vintage clothing"※2 in the fashion sector, we see similar consumer behavior emerging. This makes me think that similar consumption patterns could soon be encouraged in sectors like confectionery and beverages.

※1 Y2K: Short for "Year 2000," referring to fashion trends popular in the 2000s
※2 Archive vintage: Refers to valuable clothing items produced by popular brands or designers that are no longer in production.

This time, based on hypotheses derived from the 10th survey results and free-response answers, we explored what "Kidults" think and how they are driving the market. In the 11th "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey" scheduled for November 2025, we plan to conduct more detailed interviews to uncover precisely what desires "Kidults" feel and how they are acting on them. We will then re-examine their trends and desires.

By continuing to examine "Kidult desires," we aim to uncover various possibilities, including the potential for activating desires not only in the toy market but also across other product categories.

[Survey Overview]
10th "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey"
・Target Area: Nationwide, Japan
・Subject Criteria: Men and women aged 15–74
・Sample Size: Total 3,000 samples (allocated according to population ratio across 7 age groups: 15-19, 20s-60s, 70-74, and 2 gender groups)
・Survey Method: Online survey
・Survey Period: Tuesday, May 13, 2025 – Friday, May 16, 2025
・Survey Sponsor: Dentsu Inc. DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN
・Survey Agency: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.