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No longer niche: Why animation could be streaming's next goldmine

Published: 09 Feb. 2026, 17:26 Updated: 10 Feb. 2026, 16:47

A montage of popular animation posters, clockwise from top left: Japanese anime “Chainsaw Man” (2021); Netflix’s most-watched anime of the second half of last year, “Dandadan" (2024-); TVING animation “Terror Man,” unveiled last month; the webtoon-based film “Your Letter”; and “Solo Leveling,” a major Korean IP based on a web novel. [TV TOKYO, NETFLIX, TVING, STUDIO N, KAKAOPAGE]

Streaming platforms are betting big on animation, pouring more effort into original productions as the popularity of Japanese anime continues and a K-pop-themed animation, “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025) finds success.

Industry observers say the focus is shifting beyond simply securing content to bring in viewers, toward “turning a title’s story universe into intellectual property (IP)” that can be expanded and monetized.

Netflix, the industry’s biggest player, said on Jan. 21 that it signed a partnership with Japanese animation studio Mappa. Netflix said the two sides will work together on new projects “from story development to merchandising,” and that Mappa’s new animations will be released exclusively on Netflix.

Founded in 2011, Mappa has grown quickly with a roster of major franchises, including “Chainsaw Man” (2022-) “Jujutsu Kaisen” (2020) and “Attack on Titan: The Final Season” (2020-23).

Netflix’s push reflects how animation is no longer seen as a niche genre. The company said anime viewership on the platform has tripled over the past five years, with more than 1 billion views recorded in 2024 alone.

“KPop Demon Hunters” topped 300 million cumulative views within three months of release — the first Netflix title to do so — and ranked No. 1 overall across categories.

Korean streaming services are also accelerating their own animation slate.

A scene from the hit animation "KPop Demon Hunters." (2025) [NETFLIX]

Wavve exclusively released the eight-episode animation “Horror Nights” as an original series in 2024. TVING, after releasing “Shinbi’s Haunted House Special Episode: Vampire of Light and Child of Darkness” in 2021 and “Shinbi’s Haunted House Special: The Ghost Hunter Princess” in 2023, released “Terror Man” — an animation based on the webtoon of the same name — on Jan. 29. All were produced as originals in collaboration with local studios.

The new investment came after platforms saw clear gains from carrying popular animation. Exclusive offerings expanded significantly, including director Makoto Shinkai’s “disaster trilogy” — “your name.” (2016), “Weathering With You” (2019) and “Suzume” (2022) — and later “Coraline” (2009), bringing in “a sharp rise” in new subscribers, a Wavve representative said.

Streaming platforms, industry watchers say, helped bring what was once a genre people had to hunt down into the mainstream. As Disney+ launched its service in 2019, Netflix began distributing Japanese anime more aggressively as part of a strategy to differentiate its content lineup.

“In the past, if you wanted to watch Japanese anime that hadn’t aired on Korean TV or been released in theaters, you had to go through illegal sites,” said film critic Kim Kyung-soo. “But now you can watch it on streaming platforms with virtually no time lag.”

Franchises such as “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” (2019-), “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “Oshi no Ko” (2023-) grew alongside the rise of streaming platforms, he added.

"KPop Demon Hunters" (2025) shin ramyun [NEWS1]

That fan base, in turn, is boosting theatrical releases. Last year’s “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Infinity Castle Arc” surpassed 100 billion yen ($643 million) in global box office revenue and its streaming series also saw renewed popularity — a case of an IP-driven “virtuous cycle” in the content industry.

Experts say animation’s ability to generate spinoffs is a major draw. Park Ki-soo, a professor of cultural contents at Hanyang University, said, “Because the production format is flexible, animation is an attractive genre for linking source IP such as comics, webtoons, web novels and games.”

“Animation’s strength is its fantasy element,” said Han Chang-wan, a professor of comics and animation at Sejong University. “Because 2D characters move on screen, it can heighten viewer immersion, while also making it easier to generate revenue through ancillary rights.”

Korea’s content IP industry grew from about 33.2 trillion won ($23 million) in 2023 to about 62.6 trillion won in 2024, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency’s survey on IP transactions.

The long production timelines that have traditionally been seen as a drawback for animation may also shrink with advances in AI.

As “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: The Infinity Castle” (2025) continues its strong run and approaches 4 million admissions, moviegoers buy tickets at a theater in Seoul on Sept. 8, 2025. [NEWS1]

“Even at the fastest pace, a feature-length animation used to take four years,” said Kim Sung-yong, a professor at the Animation School of Chungkang College of Cultural Industries. “Since the emergence of AI, costs have fallen and production time has been cut in half.”

“There are differing views on whether AI can replace human creativity,” Kim added, “but across much of the industry, people are actively thinking about how to use AI.”

Still, experts say Korean animation faces limits in attention compared to Japanese and U.S. productions.

“Before streaming platforms emerged, Korea’s animation industry lacked distribution channels beyond broadcasting and theaters,” said Park, and argued it is time to secure competitiveness through “strategic thinking,” such as international co-productions or adopting AI to focus more resources on planning and development.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOU HYE-RI [[email protected]]