Sales of anime in Japan were up 8.6% in the first half of 2011, according to the Japan Video Software Association as reported by animeanime.biz via Anime News Network. The over-all market for video software was up 5.3% over the first half of 2010, the first upward trend in video sales in five years. 

Blu-Ray, which was around 39% of all anime sales, drove the growth; DVD sales were down. 

The decline in the Japanese anime market slowed last year, but this is a remarkable turnaround, given that Japan endured a disruptive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident in the period.