‘Sakamoto Days’ Leads Netflix’s Anime Expo Slate as Streamer Reveals Massive Global Viewership Growth

Netflix made a major splash at Anime Expo over the weekend, dropping new trailers, clips and images from its anime lineup including “Sakamoto Days,” “My Melody & Kuromi,” and “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2.”

The streaming giant’s anime push comes as the genre reaches unprecedented heights on the platform, with over 50% of Netflix audiences — representing more than 150 million households or over 300 million people — now watching anime content, according to Netflix. The company says it’s focused on delivering diverse stories and genres to serve everyone “from a curious newcomer to a life-long anime superfan.”

Netflix’s dominance in the anime space was recently confirmed by a new Dentsu study unveiled by Variety that found 48% of global anime viewers subscribe to Netflix for such programming, significantly ahead of Disney+ at 32% and Prime Video at 29%. The study surveyed 8,600 consumers across 10 countries and found that 31% of global consumers watch anime at least once a week.

That variety is evident in the range of titles that have landed in Netflix’s Global Top 10 (Non-English) list this year, including “Sakamoto Days,” “My Happy Marriage,” and “The Apothecary Diaries.”

Leading the charge is “Sakamoto Days,” which follows former legendary hitman Taro Sakamoto who retired for love but must fight to protect his family when his past resurfaces. The series dominated the Global Top 10 for 10 weeks, appearing in 54 countries including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, France and Argentina. New episodes drop weekly starting July 14.

“My Melody & Kuromi,” featuring beloved Sanrio characters, presents an original stop-motion tale where the iconic duo faces a major incident threatening their home of Mariland. The series premieres July 24.

“Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2” returns to the corrupt, cybernetic-implant-riddled dystopia where a talented but reckless street kid aims to become a mercenary outlaw edgerunner. The follow-up to the 2022 series is based on CD Projekt Red’s video game “Cyberpunk 2077.”

Netflix also showcased new assets from other upcoming anime titles including “Record of Ragnarok III,” “Beastars Final Season,” and “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity.”

The numbers behind Netflix’s anime explosion are staggering. In 2024 alone, anime was viewed over 1 billion times on the platform, with viewership tripling over the past five years, Netflix said. The year marked a record-breaking milestone with 33 anime titles appearing in the Top 10 list — more than double the number from 2021.

Netflix’s global reach has proven crucial to anime’s expansion. New anime titles launch simultaneously in 190 countries with dubbed audio and audio descriptions in up to 33 languages. The strategy is working: 80-90% of members watch dubbed anime, according to Netflix.

The anime slate spans multiple genres, from action/adventure hits like “My Hero Academia,” “Dan Da Dan,” “Demon Slayer,” “Jujutsu Kaisen,” and “Spy x Family” to fantasy/isekai entries like “Delicious in Dungeon.” Sci-fi offerings include “Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance” and “Terminator Zero,” while fighting fans get “Baki Hanma x Kengan Ashura” and romance/slice-of-life enthusiasts have “Ranma ½” and “Pokémon Concierge.”