Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.
For over a decade, Netflix has been licensing and streaming anime series. However, an interesting new shake-up is taking place in Netflix's anime division, as the streaming giant is taking a bold new approach to the art form. While speaking to the website AnimeAnime!, Netflix Director of Content in Japan, Hirofumi Yamano, discussed a major transformation for Netflix's involvement in the anime industry. The streamer is now shifting its model from monopolizing rights to prioritizing co-creation with partner companies and animation studios. As a result, Netflix's new era of anime focuses less on licensing more series, instead emphasizing a quality over quantity approach, stronger localization, and smarter global franchise-building.
Part of Netflix's new approach to its anime model entails deepening its relationships with anime production studios and forming strategic partnerships with them. Earlier this year, Netflix announced a new collaborative partnership with Studio MAPPA, the production company behind acclaimed, smash-hit series like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen. Under the new partnership, Netflix will work with MAPPA from story development to merchandise on new and original titles produced by the studio. Additionally, Netflix will exclusively stream MAPPA's new shows worldwide.
Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.
You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.
You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.
You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.
You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.
You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.
Netflix has already experienced success with streaming some of MAPPA's fantastic shows, including Ranma ½, Dorohedoro, and Kakegurui. The new strategy is a great approach, as it essentially allows Netflix to enter MAPPA productions at the ground level and brand upcoming prestige titles as Netflix-exclusive shows. Moreover, Netflix will help finance and monetize MAPPA's new projects. MAPPA is one of the best anime studios in the game right now, so Netflix couldn't have asked for a better production partner.
As a streaming service, Netflix is a global entity available in 190 countries, and anime draws a sizable global audience. As a result, Netflix is revamping how it localizes its anime shows, tailoring an anime series or movie based on its specific region of release. Netflix's Hirofumi Yamano pointed out to AnimeAnime! about how Netflix dedicated resources to localizing the songs of Cosmic Princess Kaguya! into five different languages internationally, including English, Filipino, Thai, Spanish, and Portuguese. Yamano also said that English songs were created for The Rose of Versailles anime feature, opting for something deeper than mere translation. He explained, "Rather than translation, we interpret the rhythm and meaning unique to each language."
Longtime anime fans will note that in past decades, it was exceedingly rare for Japanese songs to get translated or localized for a specific region, even in an English dub, let alone multiple other languages. It's incredibly exciting that Netflix is ensuring songs are translated for both English-speaking audiences and viewers in other international regions. The more in-depth approach to altering the lyrics in English makes sense, because when translating song lyrics from Japanese to another language, the direct translation may not always possess the right flow for a musical arrangement. In localizing an anime, there's always a delicate balance between remaining faithful to the original dialogue and altering the source material for a specific region. Still, the localization should work for its given region of release, especially if certain references, jokes, songs, or dialogue will not fit well in another language. Netflix's new outlook on its localization efforts ensures that different versions of an anime will cater to the streamer's global audience. This makes anime even more accessible to a wider international audience.
