It's no secret that Netflix has taken the Internet by storm these past few years, quickly becoming one of the most subscribed to streaming services across the globe. Though its service and many of its own shows have become known on an international level, the streaming giant is still notoriously cagey about sharing viewership data.
Recently, Budget Direct Home has provided a rare insight into some Netflix statistics that might be of particular interest to anime fans. The group has analyzed and sorted Netflix's most-watched shows and movies per country based on Google data, and the amount of anime that made it on the list might be surprising to some. In terms of the most searched for Netflix original anime, Seven Deadly Sins leads the pack, though there may be some biases to take into consideration. So, let's break down the anime stats.
Seven Deadly Sins is a fantasy anime that follows a princess on a quest to find the famous Seven Deadly Sins, who might be able to help her take back her kingdom. According to the data pictured above, it has dominated the board in terms of Most Popular Netflix Original Anime as the most searched for anime in 127 countries. Beastars claimed the top spot in 35 countries, coming second. The CG series is a psychological shonen drama set in an anthropomorphic society in which there is bubbling tension between herbivores and carnivores. It has become especially popular in Latin America and Japan. Blame! claimed the top spot in 25 countries, topping the list in a lot of sparsely populated areas. The series is a psychological sci-fi featuring a man trying to save the last of humanity in a dystopian world.
While these three series seem to be the most popular, Castlevania, Ultraman, Violet Evergarden, Kengan Ashura, Baki and Sturgill Simpson Presents Sound & Fury also made it on the map.
It is worth noting that these statistics measure each country's favorite anime series based on Google searches alone, so the numbers for Seven Deadly Sins and Blame! may have been skewed by people searching for the actual phrases rather than the anime that share the same name. The seven deadly sins, in particular, is an idea used in many other shows, movies and other kinds of media.
Looking at the Most Popular Netflix Original Movie, Fullmetal Alchemist claimed eight countries in South America and Central America. This spinoff film follows Edward and Alphonse Elric in a Japanese live-action version of the original story that many anime fans are already familiar with.
The anime ranked among the Most Popular Netflix Original TV Show includes Baki, Beastars, Seven Deadly sins, 7 Seeds and Levius, with the category for Most Popular Netflix Original adding Ultraman to that list.
While the Seven Deadly Sins overshadows other shows with it's fantastical story and intriguing characters, many different anime series have been able to compete with live-action shows and movies to claim the top spot in certain counties. This uprising of anime's popularity worldwide could lead to even more series' being added or created to and by Netflix or other streaming sites. It could also spur on a larger supply of anime and manga content for consumers. And if this data is anything to go by, love it or hate it, we may have Seven Deadly Sins to thank for reaching such a wide audience in recent years.
