According to a new survey, Netflix is the most popular streaming platform for anime fans across the world – except there’s been a surprising omission.
Anime (and manga) has dramatically risen in popularity over the past 10 years; there’s a reason Netflix has pumped out live-action adaptations of One Piece (which it’s also producing a remake of), Bet, and Cowboy Bepop.
For example, when global restrictions hit film and TV production in 2020, US box office sales dipped by 80% – but Japan’s anime industry slipped by just 3.5%, and Demon Slayer: The Movie: Mugen Train made over $500 million worldwide.
In short, it’s a phenomenon that keeps growing, and as per the findings of a Dentsu study reported by Variety, it’s now a big consideration for people when they pick streaming services.
Netflix is a big platform for anime, but what about Crunchyroll?
According to the survey, 48% of Netflix viewers globally subscribe to the platform to watch anime. For Disney+, it’s 32%, and 29% of Prime Video subscribers signed up for its anime selection.
Firstly, Dentsu surveyed 8,600 people across 10 countries, so it’s not as extensive as Crunchyroll and the National Research Group’s 2024 study of 28,000 “general entertainment consumers.”
Secondly, Variety’s report doesn’t mention Crunchyroll at all, even though it’s one of the largest and most reputable anime sources on the internet, as well as being behind 10 of the top 20 best-performing anime films in US box office history (this includes One Piece Film: Red and Jujutsu Kaisen 0).
In 2024, Crunchyroll also announced it had passed 15 million paying subscribers, and it’s available as a channel via Prime Video. It also describes itself as the “ultimate home for anime worldwide” and boasts the world’s largest dedicated anime streaming library, with over 50,000 episodes and more than 25,000 hours of anime series, music, and movies.
This isn’t to say that Netflix isn’t the biggest anime platform in the world; if 48% of subscribers have signed up specifically for anime, that’s 144 million viewers worldwide, which is nearly 10 times as many as Crunchyroll’s total subscribers.
The study includes other findings. As per the survey, half of Gen Z and Millennials watch anime at least once a week, a habit only shared by 9% of Baby Boomers. Also, the US spends the most on anime every year, with fans spending more than $200 on merchandise.
Dexerto has contacted Crunchyroll for comment.
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