In recent years, anime has grown immensely popular, both domestically and overseas. The attention that the industry has been getting is insurmountable, with multiple streaming services pushing to add animes to their catalogs. According to ComicBook, Max has joined its competitors through a deal with one of the largest anime platforms in Japan.
This expansion to Max’s catalog comes from the deal with Japan’s U-Next. According to ComicBook, “Max has signed a deal to expand its catalog with Japan’s U-Next. The platform is one of the biggest streaming services in Japan, and Max has signed a deal to bring its content to the sight overseas. In return, U-Next will share some of its licensed programs with Max globally, and that includes a number of anime titles.”
Not only is Max trying to expand its catalog with licensed anime from overseas, but the streamer’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, wants to expand its own anime as well. Max currently has multiple anime titles on the streaming service that Warner Bros. Discovery has produced in the United States. Two of the most popular titles, Suicide Squad Isekai and Ninja Kamui, have seen great success on the platform, and Warner Bros. Discovery wants to double down on those successes.
In addition to their original IP, Max already has a heavy hitter in the anime world in its catalog, Studio Ghibli. Max is now one of the only places fans can watch Studio Ghibli movies on demand; from Spirited Away to Howl‘s Moving Castle, the streamer is already a great destination for anime content. With the upcoming collaboration with U-Next, their catalog is only growing stronger.
This new deal with U-Next shows Warner Bros Discovery’s seriousness about investing in anime content – many of the most prolific streaming services have previously invested in this genre. However, in terms of sheer numbers, no streaming platform has a larger catalog of anime than Crunchyroll. Online, Crunchyroll is seen as the face of anime, domestically and overseas, and now, with recent investments, the site is seeing more competition.