Yuji Yamano and the Evolution of Netflix’s Anime Strategy
Yuji Yamano, content director at Netflix Japan, described The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened as a “turning point” for their anime strategy, a crucial moment that helped shape the company’s future.
In a conversation with Forbes Japan, Yamano revealed that 10 years ago, the focus of their anime strategy was to reach a global audience, with a team in Japan focused on acquiring or producing Japanese animation tailored to the Japanese audience.
However, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened changed the company’s stance by achieving great success worldwide, attracting fans who didn’t even watch anime. This left the production studio, author Shuichi Aso, and Netflix’s partners very pleased.
Yamano expressed that all parties celebrated the fact that The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened was on Netflix, a pivotal moment for the company that helped shape its future endeavors.
Besides The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened, Yamano highlighted Baki and My Happy Marriage as other influential anime for Netflix, due to the global audience they captured, encouraging further efforts in Japanese animation.
The Future of Netflix in Anime
Looking ahead, Yamano suggests that Netflix’s future in anime may involve more contracts for streaming anime and fewer contracts for producing anime.
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