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Don’t discount animation.
While Netflix’s true crime documentaries, thriller movies and period dramas continue to draw viewers, there’s one genre that’s skyrocketing in viewership: Anime.
Media Partners Asia just released a report today that shows that the amount of anime people are watching on Netflix has increased 10 times the rate of the streamer’s total viewing numbers over the past three years. That’s incredibly fast, like a Naruto-run fast.
Looking at Netflix’s “What We Watched” report, MPA says Japanese anime rose from 3.33 billion hours in 2023 to 4.64 billion during the same period in 2026—a 39% increase, representing 4.75% viewing hours on Netflix.
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MPA also reports that Netflix also now carries half the region’s anime across eight markets. When it comes to Japan, the anime landscape is a “two-horse race” between Netflix and Prime Video—both of which have more than 40% of overall anime viewing hours.
YouTube is also starting to become a major source of anime. Every month, YouTube Japan sees 70 million monthly viewers, totaling to 2.8 billion hours thanks to channels like Aniplex (5.1 million monthly viewers) and TOHO animation (4.8 million).
Crunchyroll, the anime-only streamer owned by Sony, is the platform that had the most anime transactions and alliances between 2025 and 2026, and has 21 million paying subscribers. The report didn’t say how many viewing hours the platform had.
Anime viewing hours in general will probably continue to skyrocket—the MPA expects viewership to increase 10% a year through 2030, led by Asia (excluding Japan) and North America, “with growth concentrating among a handful of franchise owners, studio groups and platforms.”
So what shows are making big waves among viewers? Jujutsu Kaisen was the number-one anime in seven of eight markets, raising the total number of anime hours from 6% to 17.3%. On Netflix, in particular, other anime hits like One Piece (and its live action adaptation), The Apothecary Diaries, Delicious in Dungeon, Hunter x Hunter, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Castlevania have been drawing a large section of viewers.
For the best anime shows on Netflix, check out our list here.