According to research by Bandai in 2011, Anpanman was voted the most popular fictional character among people ages 0 to 12 in Japan fpr 10 years in a row. Over 50 million copies of Anpanman books had been sold in Japan. By the time Takashi Yanase died in 2013, the Anpanman picture book had sold 68 million copies. Anpanman books had sold more than 80 million copies as of February 2019.