Anime titles Demon Slayer, Record of Ragnarok and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure have emerged as the top three most-watched series on Netflix this year, according to a data drop by the streamer featuring their most popular shows from January to June.
According to the streamer, Season one of the popular action-fantasy anime series Demon Slayer has broken the charts with a staggering 95.8 million hours of viewing, with its latest instalment standing at 40.5 million hours. However, the series is not streaming globally.
Set in Taisho era Japan, Demon Slayer follows the story of Tanjiro Kamado, who returns home one day to find that his family has been killed by demons and his sister Nezuko has been turned into one. Being the sole survivor of this tragedy, Tanjiro resolves to avenge his family and find a cure for his sister. Soon, he comes across the Demon Slayer Corps where he undergoes rigorous training to become a skilled swordsman and protect humanity from the vicious demons. The third season of Demon Slayer, the Swordsmith Village arc, started streaming on Netflix from April 9.
Record of Ragnarok season 2, released this year, is the second most-watched anime with 78.2 million hours viewing. The plot revolves around a grand battle tournament called Ragnarok. In their council meeting held every 1000 years, the gods decide to wipe out humanity. But they are interrupted by Brunhild, one of the Valkyries, who proposes the concept of Ragnarok as a final chance for humanity to prove its worth. Thus begins a series of one-on-one combats between the mighty gods and historical human figures.
Third on the list is the entire franchise of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, with a total of 58.2 million viewing hours. It follows the multi-generational Joestar family across various timelines, each featuring a protagonist with unique abilities known as Stands. From the Victorian era to the modern time, the Joestars face challenges by supernatural entities, blood-thirsty enemies and mystical artefacts, exploring themes of family, love, fate and the tussle between good and evil. All seasons of the anime are currently streaming worldwide.
Other notable mentions for this year are One Piece’s East Blue Saga which has a total of 57.8 million hours, followed by the Alabasta and Skypiea arcs. Season 2 of the Viking anime Vinland Saga has garnered over 55 million hours, while Attack on Titan, whose final season came out in November, has been streamed for 23.3 million hours in total.