Demand for anime just keeps growing, but tapping into the trend has been challenging even for Netflix. Of mainstream American streamers, only Hulu, which recently introduced a dedicated hub for the Japanese-born animation style, has captured an outsized share of the market.
Data from Parrot Analytics reveals that anime accounted for 5.1% of the total demand for shows in the U.S. in July 2023. This significant interest has ignited intense competition among streaming services vying for Japanese titles. Subscription streamers value anime because of its potential for subscriber retention. And unlike more hit-driven genres, demand for anime is more evenly spread across a broad range of shows.