Netflix is rapidly transforming how the world watches anime. The streaming giant revealed at a recent event that more than half of its subscribers now watch anime, which marks a major shift in viewing habits. Over the past five years, Netflix's anime audience has grown threefold, a sign of increasing global demand for this genre.
In 2024, anime reached new heights on Netflix. Thirty-three anime titles made it into the platform’s Global Top 10 for non-English shows, more than double the count from 2021. This surge shows anime is becoming a core part of Netflix's entertainment offering for its roughly 300 million subscribers worldwide.
Anime Viewership Sees Rapid Growth on Netflix
At the Anime Expo in Los Angeles, Netflix highlighted this trend, noting that anime content was streamed over one billion times worldwide in 2024. To meet growing viewer preferences, the company now offers anime dubbed in up to 33 languages. Around 80 to 90 percent of anime viewers prefer dubbed versions, which indicate a broad global appeal beyond Japan, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
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Anime Shows: More Titles on the Way
Netflix plans to maintain its momentum with several new anime shows scheduled for release in 2025 and 2026. Popular series like Sakamoto Days, which follows a former hitman balancing family life, will continue with new episodes starting July 14, 2025. This series has appeared in the Global Top 10 for ten weeks and has been popular in more than 50 countries.
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Another highly anticipated release is Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, the sequel to the 2022 dystopian hit created by Studio Trigger, set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. Alongside these, Netflix will bring back fan favourites such as Record of Ragnarok III, Beastars Final Season, and The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity. These titles cover a range of genres, including action, romance, sci-fi, and fantasy, broadening Netflix’s anime offerings.
{{/usCountry}}Another highly anticipated release is Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, the sequel to the 2022 dystopian hit created by Studio Trigger, set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. Alongside these, Netflix will bring back fan favourites such as Record of Ragnarok III, Beastars Final Season, and The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity. These titles cover a range of genres, including action, romance, sci-fi, and fantasy, broadening Netflix’s anime offerings.
{{/usCountry}}In short, the streaming platform’s focus on anime is clear: it’s not just adding titles but making anime a leading part of its global content strategy. With strong viewer numbers and diverse new releases ahead, anime’s role on Netflix is set to grow even further in the coming years.