Summary

• Netflix has improved its anime library by adding popular titles like My Hero Academia and Haikyu!! in 2024.
• The streaming service is making strides in fixing its handling of anime, now simulcasting new releases as they air in Japan.
• While Netflix may not rival Crunchyroll in content variety, its focus on exclusive limited series sets it apart in the anime industry.

For years now, Netflix has always been one of the more divisive names in anime, and for good reason. While Netflix has always been home to plenty of quality anime, especially in of original content, they’ve tended to lack a lot of the content that other streaming services have, and when coupled with their distribution models for new anime, they’ve historically not always being the best place for the medium.

Netflix has always had a hard time selling itself as an anime streaming site, but that’s started to change in recent years. Not only has Netflix taken great strides to improve its distribution model for newer anime, but Netflix also vastly increased its anime library in the spring of 2024 to have some of the most popular pre-established titles around, something that’s been a major complaint about them for years.

These changes have all been a long time coming, and they all do a lot to truly sell Netflix as a major player in the anime industry.

Netflix Finally Adds Some Of The Biggest Anime To Its Library

Anime's biggest titles are now on Netflix

Spring 2024 saw Netflix announce plans to start streaming a wide variety of new anime, and the new titles are impressive, to say the least. Starting in late March, Netflix has been adding popular anime like My Hero Academia, Haikyu!!, and Black Clover to their library, with plans for Spy X Family and Jujutsu Kaisen to also be added later in the year. All of these titles are among the most popular anime to watch, and Netflix finally adding them does a lot to give them credibility as an anime streamer.

It’s not just popular anime series that Netflix has been adding to their library, of course, but movies, as well. Just in spring 2024 alone, Netflix has added Suzume, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, and One Piece Film: Red to their library, with Jujutsu Kaisen 0 also set to come to Netflix later in the year. All of these films are among the most popular anime films to come out in recent years, and when combined with the new lineup of anime that’s been added, Netflix’s anime library has never looked better.

Netflix Had Already Been Improving Its Handling Of Anime

Netflix is better for anime than it's ever been

Netflix adding so many new anime to their library is, overall, a great extension of previous efforts made to improve their handling of anime. Netflix has often applied its popular binge-viewing model to anime, but since anime are typically aired weekly, that meant that Netflix would always wait until an anime finished airing in Japan before releasing it for viewing. Because of that, it would almost always be impossible for a new anime to garner any hype in the West due to incredibly poor timing, thus giving Netflix the reputation of being a death sentence for anime.

Fortunately, Netflix has taken great strides to fix its distribution model in recent years. While original titles still have all of their episodes released in a single sitting, when it comes to licensed works, Netflix has finally started simulcasting anime as they air in Japan, which fixes the biggest issue people have had about Netflix’s handling of anime. That’s done a lot to fix Netflix’s reputation as an anime streaming site, and when coupled with all of the new anime they’ve started adding, it’s easier than ever to see them as a major player in the anime industry.

One Piece Has Gained The Most From Netflix’s Improvements

Netflix is going all-in on One Piece

Of all the anime to benefit from Netflix’s recent changes, the one that’s gotten the most out of it is undoubtedly One Piece. Not only is Netflix now home to One Piece Film: Red, the biggest and most popular film in the franchise, but Netflix has started simulcasting One Piece starting from the Egghead Island arc, the first time they’ve ever simulcast something without a definitive end date. Netflix still doesn’t have every episode available for streaming at the time of writing, but it’s still clear that One Piece has gotten the most out of Netflix’s new practices.

All of that, of course, is a byproduct of the general push Netflix has been giving One Piece in recent years. Not only has Netflix invested a lot of money into the live-action series, even renewing it for a second season, but Netflix will also be the exclusive home of the reboot of the anime, The One Piece. That level of investment in One Piece, or any other anime, would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, so seeing it now is a perfect showing of how better Netflix is becoming at handling anime.

Netflix Still Can't Become The Next Big Anime Streamer

Why Netflix probably won't be ruling anime anytime soon

Netflix has done a lot recently to make a name for itself in the anime industry, but it's still unlikely to become the next big anime streamer anytime soon. The most recent additions to Netflix's anime library have greatly fleshed out their collection, and the fact that they've finally gotten into the habit of simulcasting anime fixes a lot of their past issues, as well. Overall, Netflix has never been better for anime than they are now, and they're only bound to get better in the future.

Even with all of that, however, they're unlikely to ever truly compete with streaming services like Crunchyroll or HIDIVE. Every season, those streaming services provide people with a multitude of new anime on a weekly basis, but more often than not, Netflix will only simulcast one or two new anime at a time, so they’re always lacking in content compared to their competitors. Netflix doesn't appear to be doing anything to change that, so they're unlikely to be in true competition with Crunchyroll or HIDIVE anytime soon.

That being said, it's not as if Netflix needs to be exactly like other streaming services. While it might be lacking in simulcasts, Netflix often ends up the exclusive home of incredible limited series like Pluto, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and Devilman Crybaby, so simulcasting multiple anime at once probably isn't a pressing concern for them. All of the anime they've added in the spring also shows that quantity won't be an issue for much longer, so even if they won't be the biggest place for anime, Netflix is almost certainly going to be a major player in one way or another.