Netflix to launch 40 new anime shows in 2021

Netflix announced in AnimeJapan 2021 Expo that it will release 40 new anime titles in 2021. With this move, the platform will double its number of Japanese-style anime releases. 

Netflix will air the first season of Way of the Househusband, a comedy series about the upbringing of a former Yakuza member on April 8. Later in the month, Yasuke, telling the story of a black samurai in an alternate version of Japan’s history, will be on Netflix screens.

“We want to be able to pride ourselves as being the top entertainment destination with good quality content,” Taiki Sakurai, Netflix’s chief anime producer, said in an interview. “The growth of our business is directly connected to the growth of our anime.”

“Blood of Zeus,” Netflix’s anime series which launched last year, is among its 10 most-watched series in around 80 countries. 

On May 27, Eden, telling the story of robots raising the last human child, will be airing. Eden is directed by Yasuhiro Irie, the director of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. 

One of the new series to be released this year will include an adaptation of the Japanese manga Record of Ragnarok, which will premiere in June and chronicles the gods and people fighting for the fate of the world. 

“Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness”, based on Capcom video game franchise, and “Yasuke” (to premiere April 29th), which is about an African samurai in feudal Japan are also among the anime series Netflix is planning to release this year. 

Netflix had previously announced its anime series The Way of the Househusband, based on a Japanese manga series. The series will debut April 8th.

The worldwide anime market reached $23 billion last year, and is expected to grow to more than $36 billion by 2025, according to Bloomberg. 

Sony announced in December it planned to buy anime video site Crunchyroll for nearly $1.2 billion (although that sale has been delayed due to an antitrust probe by the US Department of Justice). According to the New York Times, Netflix said the number of households that streamed its anime offerings last year increased by half from 2019.