Summary
Netflix is pretty much a household name at this point. It is difficult to find a house or business that does not have a Netflix account on standby, and the company is so huge that they have disrupted more than one industry. So big are they, that filmmakers like Gretta Gerwig are having conflict with them about how they wanttheir movies to be seenand how Netflix wants their movies to be seen.
However, Netflix does cave on stances once in a while, and in the case of these two anime, Netflix made some major concessions to be able to show the titles on their platform. What are these changes? Read and find out!
What is Netflix?
One of Netflix’s significant contributions to the industry is its investment in producing original content, which began around 2013 with hits like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. Since then, Netflix has branched out into producing new anime, including becoming the primary distribution partner of Studio Ponac, a film studio founded by mostly former animators of Studio Ghibli. Aside fromCrunchyroll, they are arguably the biggest distributor of anime in the streaming marketplace in America.
What is their Streaming Model?
Netflix primarily uses a “binge-release” model, where all episodes of a new season of a series are released at once. This model encourages viewers to watch multiple episodes back-to-back, allowing them to consume a season at their own pace. This is the release strategy that put them on the map, as no longer would viewers have to wait months to watch seasons of their favorite shows. This model does extend to anime, in which most anime are either held off for complete drops or are held until there are “blocks” of a show they can release. Most recently,Komi Can’t Communicatewas used as an experiment to drop a few episodes every couple of weeks. It appears that the company is experimenting with one more release model in the anime field now.
Two of the Biggest Fall 2024Anime
Two of the biggest anime this year isDragon Ball DAIMAandRanma ½.Dragon Ball DAIMAis the latest anime from theDragon Balluniverse (and the final one to be written and produced by series creator Akira Toriyama), in which the Z Fighters are turned back into kids.Ranma ½is a rebootof the gender-bending classic comedy from Rumiko Takahashi, and is following in the footsteps of the successfulUrusei Yatsurareboot.
Why Were They So Anticipated?
The Deal with the Devil Netflix Made
When it comes to negotiating, Netflix does not have the power to dictate the schedule with these properties as they do with others. So, when it came time to negotiate forRanma ½, Netflix caved and agreed to a weekly release so that the series could be simulcast. When it came toDragon Ball DAIMAthey caved more. Not only did they agree to a weekly release, but they would share the release with Crunchyroll in the states (and even agreed not to air new episodes until a couple of days after Crunchyroll does). Agreeing to weekly releases and sharing a brand-new show are both extremely unusual terms for Netflix to agree to, but they did so because that’s how important they saw these shows being on their platform. So, hey, maybe there IS hope for Greta Gerwig getting her ‘Narnia’ reboot into movie theaters after all?!
Dragon Ball DAIMA
Dragon Ball Daima is the latest anime in Akira Toriyama’s legendary franchise. After being transformed into a child, Goku must travel to a new world to try and turn things around.
Ranma 1/2
Cast
In this comedic series, martial artist Ranma Saotome navigates life with a unique predicament: he transforms into a girl when splashed with cold water. His engagement to Akane Tendo adds further complexity, as they encounter numerous challenges within familial and martial arts dynamics.
