Most Watched Anime on Netflix During the First Half of 2025 Revealed

Netflix has revealed which anime have been the biggest hits on its platform during the first half of 2025, and the results are turning heads. According to Netflix’s “What We Watched in the First Half of 2025” report, older fan-favorite Naruto Shippuden came out on top with a massive 40 million views.

The second spot went to Studio Ghibli’s work, but the real surprise was in third place, Detective Conan, also known as Case Closed! in the U.S., which pulled in 38 million views. This long-running mystery series has never been a huge success in the West, making its high ranking especially unexpected. Pokémon landed close behind, while One Piece rounded out the top five with 28 million views.

Anime news site Anime by the Numbers helped break down the data, noting that Detective Conan even beat massive titles like Demon Slayer and newer hits such as Sakamoto Days in hours watched.

Netflix also revealed just how fast anime is growing on its service. The company says anime viewership has grown more than ten times faster than other shows on the platform. Over the last five years, anime audiences on Netflix have tripled, with around 150 million people now watching anime worldwide. In 2024 alone, 33 different anime series made it into Netflix’s Global Top 10 list.

At this year’s Anime Expo, Netflix shared that more than half of its users watch anime. They also mentioned that about 90% of anime viewers prefer dubbed versions, which is why many popular shows now get dubs released at the same time as the Japanese versions. Titles like My Happy Marriage, Dandadan, and Delicious in Dungeon have all launched with multiple language options on day one.

The growing numbers show that anime is no longer a niche category for Netflix, it’s one of the biggest parts of its streaming lineup. With older classics like Naruto Shippuden still pulling huge numbers and long-running series like Detective Conan breaking into the top ranks, anime’s presence on Netflix isn’t just strong, it’s becoming a driving force for the platform’s global audience.

Data brought to us by Netflix.

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