Netflix orders five anime originals

The new originals were unveiled at the Netflix Anime Festival 2020

Netflix has added five new anime projects produced out of Japan to its original slate as it highlighted the popularity of the genre on its service.

Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure, Thermae Romae Novae, High-Rise Invasion, Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan and The Way of the Househusband will all debut exclusively on the SVoD service.

The five new projects, revealed during the livestreamed Netflix Anime Festival 2020 event this week, join 11 anime projects previously announced by the global streamer.

The originals come as Netflix claimed over 100 million households around the world chose to watch at least one anime title on Netflix between October 2019 and September 2020.

Additionally, anime original Seven Deadly Sins is one of Netflix’s top 10 titles among all series and films in more than 70 countries since its launch, while Baki is in the top 10 in almost 50 countries.

“In just four short years since launching our creative team in Tokyo, Netflix has expanded the reach and overall audience of anime – a category conventionally seen as niche. Given the success of shows such as Seven Deadly Sins and Baki, we are excited now more than ever to challenge ourselves to expand our aspirational anime programming for fans around the world,” said Taiki Sakurai, chief producer, anime at Netflix.

“To do so, we will continue to invest in new talent, and promote diversity from within. We’re excited to announce welcoming Anand Varna, our second Gobelins Fellowship student, to our creative team through our successful multi-year programme with the French institution.”