Move over, Netflix, according to data aggregated by Parrot Analytics, an outlet known for analysis of global audience demand. For a long time, Crunchyroll has been at the top of the anime game, and older fans will a time when practically every video on YouTube featured a sponsor code for the growing service. The last few years have brought major shifts to the company, and at the same time, interest in anime outside of Japan has steadily increased.

In response to this, competitors like Netflix and Hulu have been gradually increasing the amount of anime content they offer. Attempting to capture this fledgling segment, streaming platforms like Hulu and Netflix have taken on ambitious exclusives, and all-out licensing wars have broken out across the anime landscape as the most lucrative IPs are swallowed up by a swath of platforms attempting to outbid each other for digital distribution rights. These efforts have paid off for Netflix, who has started to overtake Crunchyroll in of anime distribution.

Netflix Overtakes Crunchyroll's Marketshare

The Report Also Brings Up Other Surprising Revelations

According to analysis performed by Parrot Analytics, 2024 saw Crunchyroll give up its first place position to Netflix, according to a post by X sudotodashi sharing the information. Apparently, in of 2023 global anime revenue, Netflix took in almost twice what Crunchyroll did, with a whopping $2.073 billion compared to $1.161 billion. Meanwhile, other global streamers are catching up, with Hulu at around $903 million and Amazon Prime Video at around $515 million.

The shift is only the latest evidence of a global increase in anime interest following the 2020 COVID pandemic. In response, streamers have also started to supply more anime content. Per Parrot Analytics' report entitled The Power of Anime, Hulu has the largest library of any competitor to Crunchyroll not specializing in anime. Although Netflix's anime library isn't as expansive as Hulu's, the streaming giant has nonetheless put a great deal of work into expanding their anime cata order to capture the growing demographic of anime fans.

Slowly but surely, as anime has exploded globally, competitors to Crunchyroll have worked out licensing agreements for some of Crunchyroll's formerly exclusive offerings. Perhaps the first major, market-shifting example of this was Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, which Netflix took over, proudly producing the epic series' sixth part, Stone Ocean, back in 2021. Over the years, Netflix would likewise gradually pick up more major franchises like Jujutsu Kaisen.

The work Netflix has put into marketing its anime content has also made it appeal more to the major firms in Japan that create anime, leading to a situation where licenses—especially exclusive licenses—have launched bidding wars and retaliatory moves between .

Picking up anime saved Netflix in the past few years. At the very least, Netflix has become a viable option for anime enthusiasts who want to cut back on subscriptions, while also providing a simple avenue for those who already have a subscription to try out a wider range of anime content without committing to a niche service like Crunchyroll.

Demographics Matter: How Netflix Became The Top Dog

Crunchyroll Is Niche, But That Can Only Take It So Far

It turns out, that's incredibly important. The same Parrot Analytics report also revealed that while Crunchyroll does very well with young males, people outside that demographic don't tend to favor it. Anime enthusiasm hasn't always been the most accessible hobby for people outside the young male subgroup, so the fact that Netflix has overtaken Crunchyroll is actually fantastic news for anime writ large. It shows that more people from all walks of life are taking a chance with anime and finding something to love about it, even if they come from a more general audience than a platform like Crunchyroll might typically attract.

Netflix's wide range of programming also mirrors this; for example, Violet Evergarden is just as much of a sentimental heartwrencher for people of age as it would be for younger crowds, and maybe even more so. Meanwhile, shonen monoliths like One Piece show anime's present while classics like Yu Yu Hakusho! give insight into anime's past.

Netflix has made repeated efforts at live-action adaptations of anime, and while they haven't also worked out well—the Cowboy Bebop adaptation will live on in infamy—Netflix's One Piece live-action is a heartfelt effort that no doubt charms fans of and strangers to One Piece alike. Family films, like many of Ghibli's selections, offer anime for the whole family. All in all, Netflix's anime library has become pretty impressive, even if it doesn't capture the margins of more niche genres like isekai.

As a result, there's more content than ever for people with a casual curiosity about anime to experiment with. As any anime fan who had initial reservations about the cultural associations with anime/manga can say, all it takes is one series to really hook a person before they're in love with anime in general. Anime is only gaining a stronger presence for Netflix, and as it continues to cater to increased demand, its developing market dominance over niche platforms like Crunchyroll might grow to be towering.

Source: Parrot Analytics, sudotodashi/X