Netflix anime viewing grows almost 10 times faster than total viewing
Japanese anime on Netflix is growing at almost 10 times the pace of Netflix viewing as a whole.
Views to Japanese anime rose 39% between the first half of 2023 and the first half of 2026, compared with 4.5% growth for total Netflix viewing over the same period, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA) data reported by Deadline. That is fast. It is also sustained.
In hours, the rise went from 3.33 billion hours in the first half of 2023 to 4.64 billion hours in the first half of 2026. Anime's share of all Netflix hours moved from 3.6% to 4.75%. The figures come from Netflix's What We Watched reports, its twice-yearly disclosures of hours viewed per title, as analysed by MPA in a report titled The Anime Economy.
The titles named in the coverage give a sense of the mix. They include the animated series Blue Eye Samurai and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the upcoming Bass X Machina, and Netflix's live-action adaptation of One Piece.
For viewers following Blue Eye Samurai, there is a schedule. Season 2 is set for January 2027, according to Netflix Tudum. Netflix has also renewed the series for a third and final season, meaning the story will end after three seasons, with Season 3 slated for 2028.
The report also maps where anime sits in Asia. Netflix carries half of anime available across eight Asian markets. In Japan, Netflix and Prime Video each hold more than 40% of overall anime supply, described as a two-horse race.
Demand is broad. Across those eight markets, 31% to 47% of premium video-on-demand users, meaning people paying for subscription streaming services, watch anime in any given month. That compares with a 26% to 34% average for each of the seven other main genres.
YouTube is part of the picture too. It reaches 70 million monthly anime viewers in Japan, according to the MPA report.
The business around it keeps spending. MPA expects global anime spending to rise by around 10% a year to 2030, led by Asia outside Japan and North America. Japan's premium streaming sector, which includes subscription and rental streaming, grew 15% in 2025 to reach $7.2 billion in revenue, according to MPA.
Studio power is shifting as well. MAPPA has overtaken rivals to lead Asia's anime race on Jujutsu Kaisen, as Netflix and Sony compete to own anime franchises, according to a separate MPA report covered by Variety.
What makes this stand out is the consistency. Anime is not spiking on one hit. It is adding hours, share and markets while viewing overall grows much more slowly.
