Global streaming giant Netflix has revealed their upcoming plans for this year during its presentation at AnimeJapan 2021 event on Saturday.
Taiki Sakurai, the company’s chief producer for anime, has announced that they will stream “about 40 original anime titles” for this year, which would be double of the titles that had been added to the platform last year.
“If there are 52 weeks in a year, this means we are streaming a new title almost every week,” Sakurai added.
Netflix also held a panel discussion during their presentation event regarding their upcoming titles, featuring Kenjiro Tsuda of The Way of the Househusband, Marika Kohno of Eden and Toshiyuki Morikawa of RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness.
Tsuda, who voiced the lead protagonist “Tatsu”, tells moderator Hisanori Yoshida, “The show itself is incredibly fun, but there’s much to learn from it as well.”
When asked about the charm of the protagonist, Tsuda says that the fans can enjoy the stark contrast between the character and its personality. He also adds that the character also speaks in a strong Kansai dialect, which gives a “local feel” to the upcoming show.
The Way of the Househusband is scheduled to stream on Netflix this April 8, 2021.
When Kohno was asked about her experience in recording Eden, she explains that they have started recording without any locked individuals and redone the recordings several times, and says “… I was fortunate enough to see the visual story all come together as we recorded Sara’s voice.”
“Having seen the visuals, I felt it all came together very compellingly, and with plenty of color to support Sara’s jovial character,” Kohno added.
Eden is scheduled to premiere on Netflix in May 27, 2021.
When Morikawa was asked about RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness after viewing the teaser trailer, he reveals that they have not started recording for the character yet, which is why is wants to express his excitement as a fan of the franchise.
“As a survival horror genre, the direction of the story is quite serious, but I am confident it will keep you on the edge of your seat,” Morikawa said.
He also express his confidence about the upcoming series as a full-CG anime series, saying “… I think fans from all over the world are keen to learn so much more about this story.”
RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness is set to premiere on Netflix later this year.
The company also revealed a new special art for the upcoming anime series Yasuke, which is loosely based on the historical figure Yasuke, a samurai of African origin who served under Oda Nobunaga in the 16th century.
Sakurai also revealed that LeSean Thomas, the director of the upcoming anime series, that despite not speaking Japanese, he “moved to Japan to create this show, working closely with production studio MAPPA, often visiting their studio in person.”
Sakurai also says that when he presented the show to the animation studio, the studio the project as a leap of faith, despite the language barrier.
“Their positive force is what I believe drives MAPPA’s incredible growth today,” Sakurai says.
Netflix also announced during the presentation event that they have acquired the upcoming anime series Record of Ragnarok, which is scheduled to be added to the platform later this June.
