Bedingfield, Will. “Netflix and Its Rivals Are Changing Anime, for Better or Worse.” WIRED, July 4, 2021. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/netflix-anime.

Netflix plans on launching 40 anime shows in 2021. Hulu, Amazon Prime, and especially Sony are also trying to expand into anime as well. Historically anime viewers have pirated a large amount of their shows. Takai Sakurai, Netflix’s chief anime producer, said that half of Netflix’s global subscribers watched at least one anime title over summer 2021. The Netflix original series anime, Blood of Zeus, was in the top ten of most watched series in 80 countries. Netflix gets exclusive international distribution rights on shows such as Knights of Sidonia, and creates its own anime tailored to audiences such as in Yasuke. Typically anime is cheaper to make than American animation. The initial language translation is the most expensive part.

Bricken, Rob. “Netflix Just Announced a Million Anime Things.” GIZMODO, November 9, 2021. https://gizmodo.com/netflix-just-announced-a-million-anime-things-1848024619.

Netflix is slated to launch many new anime series to its platform in the coming future. Notably Yu Yu Hakusho will be released in December of 2023; this show was immensely popular when first released in Japan in the early 90s, but its U.S. release in 2003 was overshadowed by similar series such as Dragonball Z. Netflix announced a live-action One Piece adaptation and acquired the rights to the live-action Bleach movie made in 2018. It is also of note that Netflix allegedly has a strong relationship with Shueisha who is the publisher of Shonen Jump, the best-selling and longest running manga magazine.

Moss, Ethan. “Netflix’s Anime Audience More Than Doubled in 2020.” CBR.com, December 17, 2020. https://www.cbr.com/netflixs-anime-audience-more-than-doubled-in-2020/.

Netflix’s audience for anime on its platform grew over 100% in 2020. Netflix currently has a release strategy of acquiring the rights to anime shows once the seasons have finished airing in Asia. This frustrates die-hard fans as it prevents them from seeing anime just released in Japan and Asia as a whole. A negative is that they feel that they have to avoid online spoilers. In the past Netflix has contributed Original Series Anime such as Blood of Zeus, Devilman Crybaby, and High-Rise Invasion. 

Sutton, Kelsey. “Netflix Doubles Down on International Content as US Viewers Embrace It.” ADWEEK, August 19, 2021. https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/netflix-doubles-down-on-international-content/.

Netflix has seemed to make local-language programming a central tenet of its global programming strategy. Since 2019, Netflix has seen non-English language viewing in the US increase by 71%. A whopping 97% of U.S. members have watched at least one non-English title in the last year. International shows include Lupin, the most popular series on Netflix this year, and The Witcher.

yahoo!finance. “Netflix (NFLX) Rides on International Content Growth in 2021,” May 27, 2021. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix-nflx-rides-international-content-130501904.html.

Netflix has expanded its presence to more than 190 countries. They are currently working on projects across Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, France, Turkey, and the entire Middle East to drive international subscriber growth. Netflix launched a low-priced mobile plan in India, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. They are also putting asian American protagonists front and center for kids around the world with 3 upcoming projects: The Monkey King, Mech Cadets, and Boons and Curses. They established two new production facilities in Korea to increase production of Korean original series and boost international content. There is also the opening of a Nordic hub in Stockholm, Sweden. By the end of the year, nearly 70 original films and shows from Nordic territories are expected to be available on the service. To combat competition, Netflix is strengthening its original content offerings of TV series, documentaries, and feature films in various genres and languages.