Netflix’s growing investment in anime has not guaranteed it the top spot among Japanese viewers. A new 2026 survey conducted by Japanese entertainment website Anime! Anime! has revealed that Amazon Prime Video is the preferred paid streaming platform among respondents who watch anime through subscription services, putting Netflix in second place.
The findings highlight an interesting gap between Netflix’s growing anime viewership and the platform’s popularity among dedicated anime fans in Japan. Although the streaming giant has expanded its anime catalogue, increased its investment in original productions, and introduced more simultaneous releases, Prime Video appears to have an advantage among the survey participants.
The results were published on November 5, 2026, as part of Anime! Anime!’s annual reader survey exploring oshikatsu, a Japanese term describing how fans support and engage with their favourite entertainment franchises.
Prime Video Takes the Lead Over Netflix Among Anime Viewers
According to the Anime! Anime! 2026 oshikatsu survey, approximately 50% of respondents who watch anime through paid subscription platforms selected Amazon Prime Video as their preferred service.
Netflix ranked second, attracting around 30% of the respondents. U-NEXT and Hulu followed with approximately 10% each, while Disney+ and d Anime Store were among the other services mentioned.
The results suggest that Prime Video currently has a stronger position than Netflix among the surveyed Japanese anime viewers who rely on paid streaming subscriptions. However, the figures represent the preferences of survey participants rather than the overall market share of each platform.
Interestingly, subscription streaming was not the dominant way respondents preferred to watch anime. Only around 15% said they primarily watched their favourite series through subscription services.
Nearly half of the participants also reported that they were not subscribed to any paid streaming platform, suggesting that dedicated anime fans do not necessarily depend on subscription services to follow their favourite shows.
Japanese Anime Fans Still Prefer Watching Television Broadcasts
Another significant finding from the survey concerns the popularity of traditional television broadcasts.
More than 70% of respondents said they watch anime as it airs on television. Approximately 55% occasionally watch episodes in real time, while around 20% identified themselves as exclusively live television viewers.
Recording episodes for later viewing also remains popular, with approximately 45% of participants selecting this option. Some respondents combine both approaches, watching certain episodes live while recording others to build a backlog.
These findings suggest that streaming platforms have not completely replaced traditional anime broadcasting in Japan. Instead, viewers continue to combine different viewing methods depending on their schedules and preferences.
Netflix’s Anime Viewership Continues to Grow Despite the Results
Despite finishing behind Prime Video in this survey, Netflix remains one of the biggest players in the global anime streaming market.
A September 2026 report from Media Partners Asia, published through the Asia Video Industry Association, revealed that Japanese anime generated 4.64 billion viewing hours on Netflix during the first half of 2026. This represented a 39% increase compared with the first half of 2023.
Anime also accounted for 4.75% of Netflix’s total viewing hours during the period, demonstrating how important the genre has become to its content strategy.
Netflix has responded to this growing demand by expanding its anime licensing agreements, investing in original productions, and bringing more new series to international audiences alongside their Japanese broadcasts. Its January 2026 partnership with MAPPA also reflects its growing interest in working directly with established animation studios.
However, the latest Anime! Anime! survey demonstrates that increased viewing hours do not automatically translate into being the preferred streaming service.
Netflix previously ranked first in a separate international survey covering anime streaming preferences across seven countries, including the United States. Consequently, its second-place finish in the latest Japanese survey does not necessarily indicate a worldwide decline.
For now, Prime Video has emerged as the preferred paid anime streaming service among respondents in Anime! Anime!’s latest survey, while Netflix continues to strengthen its position in an increasingly competitive market.
