Despite how prevalent Netflix accounts seem in the US,
Netflix is starting to struggle to compete with rising video-streaming platforms
such as HBO Max and especially Disney, which has its own established movies and
brands such as Marvel, Star Wars, and The Simpsons. Disney’s
subscription cost is also only half of Netflix’s.
Netflix is trying to find ways to set itself apart from
Disney, mainly by appealing to the anime fans around the world. Netflix has
also not permeated the Asian market. Netflix has desperately tried to acquire Studio
Ghibli’s movies, but Studio Ghibli is notorious for only selling its movies in
theatrical releases or in physical form. Simply acquiring the rights of anime may
not be enough either, since competing anime-only streaming services like
Crunchyroll exist. Thus, Netflix has increased its budget in the past year by
30%, turned to partnering with five famous Japanese animation studios, and
signed 5-10-year contracts with these companies. Netflix seems confident that
it can keep attracting more customers with its new anime.
Even though the article says that Netflix is “confident that
it can ride out the competition,” personally, I hesitate to agree, based on the
track record of the Netflix-and-animation-studio-collaboration Netflix-exclusive
anime that exist already. Among the anime listed as “Netflix original anime,” not
all of them were made with the intent to exclusively stream on Netflix. Most of
them first aired on TV in Japan, and Netflix acquire exclusive rights to stream
them online afterwards. Since the article mainly talks about Netflix’s plan to
work with animation studios to develop shows that premiere worldwide on Netflix
and will never air on television, I will single out those shows specifically.
The ones known so far (both planned and already completed) are:
7Seeds
A.I.C.O. -Incarnation-
Aggretsuko
B: The Beginning
Bootleg Multiverse
Cannon Busters
Devilman: Crybaby
Japan Sinks
Kengan Ashura
Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya
Lost Song
Spriggan
Ultraman
Let us call these shows “Netflix-intended” shows. I do not
have my own Netflix account, so I think I have a clear view of which of these Netflix-intended
shows are known by non-subscribers, which is Netflix’s target audience. Of
these, I only have heard positive press of Devilman: Crybaby, Aggretsuko,
and Rilakkuma and Kaoru. These three are already established brands
by themselves; Devilman is an adaptation of a 1972 manga by the same
name, Aggretsuko is a Sanrio property, and Rilakkuma is a
currently popular mascot character.
Looking through a few reviews of the other shows that I have
not heard of, I see that they generally have average reviews. None of the Netflix-intended
shows have a score higher than 7.94 on MyAnimeList, where users are very
generous with their ratings. It is typically accepted that an anime rated
between 7-8 is quite average. B: The Beginning is made by one of the five
big-name studios with which Netflix partnered, namely Production I.G, and has famous
voice actors like Kaji Yuuki, but I have only ever heard so-so reviews of B: The Beginning.
I think that the current Netflix is not a place that people
will flock to watch anime. Most of the Netflix-intended anime is less than
mediocre, and the only Netflix-intended anime that might convince people to get
a Netflix subscription are ones that already have an existing fanbase. It is
not enough for Netflix to just string along animation studios to make
Netflix-intended anime; Netflix needs to make good anime that will make people leave
positive reviews that will entice non-subscribers like me to make a Netflix
account.
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