Netflix Anime Viewership Surges, Growing 10 Times Faster Than Other Shows

Anime is blowing up on Netflix, growing more than ten times faster than the rest of the shows on the platform. But despite this huge growth, Netflix isn’t seeing all the benefits. Most of the popular anime on Netflix aren’t their exclusive shows, and even fewer are ones where Netflix is the full producer.

Rob Pereyda, who writes about anime trends, shared some thoughts in his latest newsletter that really match what many have been noticing. He says that an anime’s success overseas depends a lot on who’s backing it.

If a show isn’t supported by big publishers like Shueisha, Shogakukan, Kodansha, or Kadokawa, or distributed by major players like Crunchyroll or Netflix, its chances of becoming a global hit are less certain.

Pereyda points out that the anime world is changing. The source material isn’t just manga anymore, and the market for anime merchandise is getting more complicated. Crunchyroll still rules the anime streaming world, but publishers are starting to think about handling marketing themselves instead of relying so much on Crunchyroll.

Lately, Amazon and Disney have been gaining attention from publishers, even though this could make it harder for some anime to get noticed. Still, it might help these shows reach a wider audience overall.

He also talks about the idea of “decoupling” in the anime business. This means that top anime titles don’t always do well in retail sales, while smaller niche shows can actually make good money thanks to their dedicated fans. Pereyda’s analysis helps explain the tricky balance between smart business moves and the unpredictable results that come with the anime industry today.

Netflix’s own reports back up how big anime has become on their platform. After the recent Anime Expo, Netflix revealed that over half of its users watch anime — that’s around 150 million people worldwide.

Over the last five years, anime viewership on Netflix has tripled. In 2024 alone, 33 anime series made it into Netflix’s Global Top 10 list. This was announced during the event, along with new projects like Cyberpunk Edgerunners season 2. Netflix clearly plans to keep being a major player in the anime streaming scene.

One interesting fact Netflix shared is that about 90% of viewers prefer watching anime in dubbed versions. This makes sense because many popular shows now get dubbed episodes released at the same time as the original Japanese ones.

Shows like My Happy Marriage, Dandadan, and Delicious in Dungeon have all offered dubs on their release day. Netflix also supports fans worldwide by providing up to 33 different subtitles and languages for their anime titles.

All of this shows that anime is not just growing fast but also changing the way streaming services like Netflix work with this unique and passionate audience. As the anime world expands, it’ll be interesting to see how platforms and publishers adapt to keep fans happy and the business thriving.

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