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Netflix Inc. revealed earlier this week that it signed a deal with a Japanese animation company to bolster its anime content offering. The America video streaming giant teamed up with Studio Colorido and entered into an agreement for multiple film content releases.
Netflix is scaling up its anime lineup and, through the deal, is also looking to further grow its business in the Asian region. In this partnership, the two companies will be co-producing three feature films, including the “Drifting Home” anime movie that is set to premiere in September.
According to Reuters, the video streaming firm wants to release more original Japanese animations. Thus, it is investing in this and joining forces with local animation studios in Japan, where anime originated. It was revealed that while Netflix is featuring the “Drifting Home” movie, it will also be shown in movie theaters in the country.
Anime is one of the biggest crowd-drawer for Netflix, not just in Japan but also worldwide. It was reported that 90% of local subscribers watch these animations, and on the global stage, 50% of the subscribers watched their favorite anime series and movies on the platform last year.
“At Netflix, we place a premium on authentic material for our core fans as well as to draw in new viewers. This partnership extends our growing film slate in Japan and also adds to our collection of more “lean-back” and family-friendly stories,” Netflix’s Japan content director, Yuji Yamano, said in an interview. “We will also explore theatrical releases for upcoming films we co-produce, in addition to their Netflix premieres. The first example of that will be ‘Drifting Home,’ which will premiere on Netflix and in theaters on the same day.”
Finally, Kaata Sakamoto, vice president of content at Netflix Japan, added that they are ramping up their investment in Japanese content not just in volume but in various genres and content formats. He added that in order to win globally, they must win more viewers locally first; thus, they are improving their offering by releasing more originals alongside local Japanese studios.
