The Crunchyroll & Netflix Anime Duopoly Explained
How Crunchyroll & Netflix shaped the overseas anime market.
A few recent reports have claimed that Crunchyroll and Netflix have almost complete control of the anime market outside of Japan. While that’s partially true, the reality of the situation is a bit more complicated.
But first….
- Miles A.
Chart of the Week
Chloe is on vacation this week, so Miles, Malu, and I have brought you a fun anime chart instead! I’m not a sports fan myself, but I love Haikyu!!, Yuri!!! on ICE, and Free! as much as the next fujoshi. But what about more recently released sports anime? Here’s what we found since 2020:
Umamusume is hard to classify. Does the cute horse girl racing anime franchise count as horse racing? Or is it just human track? Are they technically centaurs? Is this technically fantasy and not sports anime? These are the wild questions we sometimes have to ask as anime data scientists.
We were surprised that baseball, Japan’s favorite sport, wasn’t higher on this list. This is probably because baseball is so culturally popular that it’s usually just integrated into other kinds of anime, so there are lots of baseball episodes and OVAs, but not as many baseball-exclusive anime.
Entertainment At Large
Streamers’ focus on crowd-pleasing shows is confusing viewers (The Streamable)
You would be shocked at how poorly people recall which services have which titles, even amongst the most engaged viewers.
It's impossible to tell from a streaming service’s "vibe", unless you're focused on a single genre or medium. (Or if you're Paramount+, which is mostly Yellowstone and Star Trek). - Miles A.
Black American Aesthetics in Japanese Male Hip-Hop: A Black Feminist Analysis and Critique of Racialized Masculinity in Japan’s Western Region (Brianna Slaughter, Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University)
Doctoral and masters students’ theses going viral is now becoming a bit of a trend after Dr. Ally Louks’ Olfactory Ethics made waves on Twitter. Brianna Slaughter’s post about their graduation and thesis going viral on TikTok, a platform usually known for anti-intellectualism, was a welcome surprise. They made it free to read for everyone in celebration of their degree! - Klaudia A.
Ones to Watch
READ: Haigakura
After the anime adaptation was announced to be continuing this summer, I went down a Haigakura rabbit hole to find out more about this unsung josei gem. I’m a sucker for anything about gods and mythology, so this seemed right up my alley. The worldbuilding is really cool, and the art style is truly beautiful. I really hope the manga gets officially licensed in English someday so more people will read it and watch the anime! Fans of Heaven Official’s Blessing and Link Click (like me!) will especially like it. Here’s a great thread to find out more about it! - Klaudia A.
WATCH: The Elusive Samurai
The Elusive Samurai is a reinterpretation of parts of the Taiheiki, a medieval account of the disastrous end of the Kamakura Shogunate and the beginnings of the Ashikaga Shogunate during the 14th century. The story follows Hojo Tokiyuki's betrayal by his family's Ashikaga retainers, and his subsequent efforts to survive and gather allies to one day avenge his family and retake the country.
The story's themes are well reinforced by its supernatural elements and surreal art style, with serious tonal shifts as sudden as the kaishakunin's blade, reminding us that the pages of history are soaked in blood. The fight scenes, while totally unrealistic, have a very tight internal logic and a masterful artistic execution. I enjoyed this show so much I'm already planning for a detour through old Shinano province (modern day Nagano) the next time I'm in Japan. Also I love this show because it depicts the heyday of the naginata's use on the battlefield.
While it wasn’t as well known overseas as it should have been during the first season, it’s getting a second season, and the manga is ongoing on Manga Plus, so I hope more people give it a chance! - Miguel M., Associate
The Crunchyroll & Netflix Anime Duopoly Explained
Coke and Pepsi make up roughly 70% of the global soda market. Meta and Google manage just under 50% of all digital ad spend. But for international anime streaming, Crunchyroll and Netflix control up to 80% of the market, depending on which metrics you want to use.
On the final business day of 2024, Bloomberg released an article, Sony's Crunchyroll Finds Its Early Lead in Anime Under Attack, to uproarious interest from fans and industry alike. While the specifics of the article likely pass journalistic muster, I found the article’s framing puzzling. Putting aside the notion that 2024 would constitute an “early lead” in anime streaming as ahistorical, to argue that Disney and Netflix, in particular, are moving into anime in a way that threatens Crunchyroll’s role as licensee of the supermajority of anime is wholly unsubstantiated, at least within the text of the article.
Netflix is on a three-year downward trend in the volume of anime both acquired and produced. Disney has kept consistent interest in the medium, but it’s only a fraction of Netflix’s. (Not-so-fun-fact: the House of Mouse didn’t even bother translating their press release for their 2025 anime slate into English.)
That’s not to say streaming platforms outside of Crunchyroll aren’t showing growing interest in anime. Amazon Prime Video will stream Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX globally. The anime adaptation of Weekly Shonen Jump’s Witch Watch joins the likes of Dan Da Dan, Dragon Ball Daima, and My Deer Friend Nokotan as a major non-exclusive release. But even in these cases, Crunchyroll is still the “winner”, benefitting from the increased interest and awareness of anime that Netflix and Disney’s dabbling provides.
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