Ryan's World

Ryan's World (formerly Ryan ToysReview) is a children's YouTube channel for children aged 2–6 featuring Ryan Kaji[2] along with his mother (Loann Kaji), father (Shion Kaji), and twin sisters (Emma and Kate).

Ryan's World
YouTube information
Channel
Years activeMarch 2015 – present
GenreChildren
Subscribers35.5 million[1]
Total views55.7 billion[1]
100,000 subscribers2015
1,000,000 subscribers2016
10,000,000 subscribers2017
Last updated: September 13, 2023

The channel usually releases a new video daily. One of the channel's videos, titled Huge Eggs Surprise Toys Challenge has over 2 billion views as of January 2023, making it one of the 60 most-viewed videos on YouTube.[3] As of January 2023, the channel has over 34 million subscribers and over 45 billion views.[4] The channel is one of the Top 10 most-subscribed YouTube channels in the United States.

The Verge has described the channel as "a mash-up of personal vlog and 'unboxing' video, a blend of innocent childhood antics and relentless, often overwhelming consumerism."[5] According to Forbes, Kaji earned $11 million between 2016 and 2017 as the eighth highest-paid YouTuber, and in 2018, 2019 and 2020, was listed as the highest-paid YouTuber, earning $22 million, $26 million and 29.5 million respectively from his videos and product line.[6][7][8]

History

Ryan Kaji's parents Shion and Loann met as undergraduate students at Texas Tech University. Shion moved to the United States from Japan in high school and is the son of a microchip executive. Loann's family fled from Vietnam as refugees, and she grew up in Houston hoping to become a teacher, which she later did. Shion left Texas to get a master's in engineering at Cornell University, but returned soon after Ryan's birth, completing the degree online.[9]

Kaji began making YouTube videos in March 2015 after watching other toy review channels and asking his mother, "How come I'm not on YouTube when all the other kids are?"[10] Kaji's mother decided to quit her job as a high school chemistry teacher to work on the YouTube channel full-time.[5]

Before going live on YouTube, the family replaced their real-life surname with the on-screen surname Kaji.[11][12][13]

In 2017, Kaji's parents signed a deal with PocketWatch, a startup children's media company that was founded in 2016 by Chris Williams and Albie Hecht. PocketWatch does the marketing and merchandise for Ryan's YouTube channels.[14] In 2018, Ryan ToysReview, in cooperation with PocketWatch and WildWorks, created an app called Tag with Ryan, an endless runner game targeted towards children, for iOS and Android.[15] In 2019, Ryan ToysReview and PocketWatch produced a 20-episode television series for preschoolers titled Ryan's Mystery Playdate.[16] On November 1, 2019, Outright Games released a video game titled Race with Ryan, a racing game featuring Kaji and characters from the Ryan's World brand, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.[17]

A hybrid live-action and animated series titled Super Spy Ryan premired on November 27, 2020, at Amazon Kids+.[18] On December 4, 2020, it was announced that Ryan's World would be launching an official game on the gaming platform Roblox.[19] On 4 March 2022, Outright Games released a second Ryan's World licensed video game titled Ryan’s Rescue Squad, an action-adventure game for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, and Stadia.[20] On 28 September 2023, Sunlight Entertainment, a production company owned by Ryan's family, partnered up with Toei Animation to create Elemon, a flash-animated anime-style series that is focused on teaching children about chemistry.[21]

Ryan Kaji
Personal information
Born
Ryan Guan

Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupations
Websiteryans.world
YouTube information
Channelswww.youtube.com/c/RyanToysReview
LocationHonolulu, Hawaii, U.S.[22]
Years active2015–present
Genres
Subscribers34.3 million
(February 2023)
Associated actsRyan's Mystery Playdate

Influence

Kaji has impacted the toy industry through the high view counts of his toy reviews, which will sometimes affect toy sales.[5] Chris Williams of PocketWatch compared Kaji to Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants.[14]

At the Toy Fair 2018 in New York City, Kaji announced a line of toys, branded as Ryan's World, in cooperation with PocketWatch and Bonkers Toys.[23] The toys were first released exclusively at Walmart on August 6, 2018.[24]

The Ryan's World channel has been listed in 2018 and 2019 as the highest-earning YouTube channel by Forbes.[6][8] The New York Times reported that the Kaji family earn at least $25 million from their "Ryan's World" merchandise sales, which totaled over $250 million in 2021.[9]

The channel's description mentions that most of the toys reviewed are later donated to charity.[25] His mother told Tubefilter that "Ryan doesn't keep all the toys he gets — we give a lot of them away to friends and family, and also a lot of them away to charity."[26]

Controversy

On August 28, 2019, a complaint was filed by Truth in Advertising and the Federal Trade Commission due to its sponsored videos not being properly disclosed. Truth in Advertising has claimed that "Nearly 90 percent of the Ryan ToysReview videos have included at least one paid product recommendation aimed at preschoolers, a group too young to distinguish between a commercial and a review."[27] These advertisements often depict unhealthy foods.[28] The latter complaint resulted in the FTC suing YouTube and Google for $170 million; this resulted in YouTube adopting new rules on children's content to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.[29]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref(s)
2021 Streamy Awards Subject: Kids and Family Ryan's World Nominated
2022 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Male Creator Nominated

See also

References
  1. "About Ryan's World". YouTube.
  2. Pasquarelli, Adrianne; Schultz, E.J. (January 21, 2019). "New Kids on the Block: Move over Gen Z, Generation Alpha is the one to watch". Ad Age. Vol. 90, no. 2. p. 22. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019.
  3. Huge Eggs Surprise Toys Challenge with Inflatable water slide. Ryan's World. Retrieved February 2, 2018 – via YouTube.
  4. "Ryan ToysReview YouTube Channel Analytics and Report". NoxInfluencer. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  5. Popper, Ben (December 22, 2016). "YouTube's biggest star is a 5-year-old that makes millions opening toys". The Verge. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  6. Robehmed, Natalie; Berg, Madeline (December 3, 2018). "Highest-Paid YouTube Stars 2018: Markiplier, Jake Paul, PewDiePie And More". Forbes. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  7. Berg, Madeline (December 7, 2017). "The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars 2017: Gamer DanTDM Takes The Crown With $16.5 Million". Forbes. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  8. Berg, Madeline (December 18, 2019). "The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars of 2019: The Kids Are Killing It". Forbes. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  9. Kang, Jay Caspian (January 5, 2022). "The Boy King of YouTube". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  10. Schmidt, Samantha (December 11, 2017). "6-year-old made $11 million in one year reviewing toys on You Tube". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  11. Koh, Yoree (December 23, 2019). "Walmart, Target Embrace 8-Year-Old YouTube Influencer's Brand". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  12. Noor, Poppy (December 20, 2019). "The highest YouTube earner this year? An eight-year-old". The Guardian. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  13. "Top YouTuber is eight years old, earns US$26 million". Taipei Times. Agence France-Presse. December 20, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  14. "7-year-old toy reviewer on YouTube becomes a toy himself". WHDH. Associated Press. October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  15. "Tag with Ryan". WildWorks. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  16. Zahn, James (February 14, 2019). "From YouTube to Nickelodeon: Ryan's Mystery Playdate is the Next Move for Ryan ToysReview". The Toy Book. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  17. "Race With Ryan Road Trip Deluxe Edition". Outright Games. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  18. Alexander, Julia (November 19, 2020). "YouTube's biggest child star is getting his own show on Amazon". The Verge. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  19. Patel, Sahil (December 4, 2020). "9-Year-Old YouTube Star Ryan Kaji Opens Virtual World on Roblox". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  20. "Ryan's Rescue Squad". Outright Games. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  21. "Sunlight & Toei Team for New 'Ryan's World' Animated Series 'Elemon'". Animation Magazine. September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  22. John Goodwin. "Ryan's World: How a kid in Hawaii became a YouTube millionaire". cbsnews.com.
  23. "Major Apparel and Toy Companies Jump On Board pocket.watch Media Brand". pocket.watch (Press release). February 13, 2018. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  24. Lugmayr, Luigi (July 30, 2018). "Ryan ToysReview Launches Massive Ryan's World Toy Line-up Exclusively at Walmart". I4U News. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  25. "About". Ryan's World. Retrieved February 23, 2020 – via YouTube.
  26. Weiss, Geoff (September 8, 2016). "This 4-Year-Old Has The Most-Viewed YouTube Channel In The World". Tubefilter. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  27. Hsu, Tiffany (September 4, 2019). "Popular YouTube Toy Review Channel Accused of Blurring Lines for Ads". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  28. O'Connor, Anahad (October 26, 2020). "Are 'Kidfluencers' Making Our Kids Fat?". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  29. Murphy Jr., Bill (September 4, 2019). "Remember the 7-Year-Old Who Made $22 Million on YouTube? (Here's How That Worked Out for YouTube)". Inc.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
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