Anime goes mainstream: over half of Netflix subscribers regularly watch anime

At Anime Expo in Los Angeles, Netflix announced that its anime audience has tripled over the past five years.

Anime, once considered a niche genre outside Japan, is rapidly gaining popularity. According to Netflix, more than 50% of global subscribers regularly watch anime — roughly 150 million households or about 300 million viewers. In 2024, users streamed anime more than a billion times, and 33 titles entered the platform's global top — twice as many as three years ago.

To keep the audience engaged, Netflix is expanding language localization: voiceovers and descriptions are now available in 33 languages. At the recent Anime Expo, the company also unveiled new materials for upcoming projects, including “Sakamoto Days”, the second season of “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners”, and others.

Netflix states its intention to strengthen its position in the anime market. This is supported by both internal service statistics and data from a recent study by Dentsu, according to which the platform holds one of the leading positions among anime streaming services, trailing only Crunchyroll.

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Cover image credit: GKIDS Films Cover source: Collider