2 July 2018

Netflix, anime and me: a follow-up

First: about me

*Looks at his last few posts and sighs*. Yeah, that whole "going youtube-thing" isn't going to work out, eh? Let's face it: Doing youtube videos for a perfectionist like me (who can't ad-lib) was way too much work, while I have way too little time to properly edit all the footage I have. And unlike your average youtube editor, I can't afford to stay awake until 4 in the morning; I still have a day job.

And since I can't do ad-libs properly (I go off-topic and start rambling waaaay too often), I had to write the script beforehand completely. The moment I came to the conclusion that I was writing the entire script like I would write my blog posts, I caved in. This had no point, other than exhausting me.

So I took a break for some retrospective thoughts. In the meantime I've been writing a Dutch blog (about my travels in Japan). But since the last post is planned to be released in the next week, I wanted to shift my focus on anime again.

But I want to change my writing according to my current viewing habits and not the other way around (which was a mistake I have made in the past). And my viewing habit has become that of a casual anime fan: watching one or two of the current seasonal anime, but then watch whatever pops up on Netflix.

Let's face it: Crunchyroll may have the biggest selection of anime, most people watching it are the seasonal anime fans. And those viewers aren't blog readers (there are some, but they're a minority). People that visit this blog (or most anime blogs for that matter) are those who are looking for reviews of an entire series that just popped up on their radar (e.g. via Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc). They read whether or not it's good and start binge-watching.

Long story short: The plan is that I'm going to be writing reviews for anime on Netflix.

Anime on Netflix - the follow-up

Since I'm talking about Netflix, let's first do a follow-up post on my post of last August about anime on Netflix; just to see what has happened and what has changed ever since.

For the original post, check this link: https://thevproject.blogspot.com/2017/08/a-talk-about-anime-netflix-funimation.html

What has been released since my post in 2017:

  • Little Witch Academia: Both (short) movies and both seasons have been released. The only thing missing is Netflix linking them all together chronologically for convenient watching experience (seriously, Netflix. Get to it!)
  • Fate / Apocrypha: Season 1 was added this past winter, season 2 was added March 31st and is thus complete.
  • Devilman Crybaby: Has been added January 5th 2018 and was one of the most talked about series of the past winter season.
  • Kakegurui: I have no idea why this anime took SO long. But it's been added since February 1st. Oh, and the live action adaptation followed soon after.
  • ID-0: I always thought this was an Amazon exclusive. I now realize it was a Netflix exclusive... it's a bad series, but it's been added.
  • Godzilla Monster Planet: Has been added January 17th. The second movie will be added from July 18th! There will be more Godzilla animated movies released in the coming years and they will all come to Netflix after their respective theater run has completed.
  • B the Beginning: Season 1 has been added March 2nd, season 2 has been announced for later this year.
  • A.I.C.O. Incarnation: Has been released, March 9th 2018
  • Children of the whale: Sneaked its way in below the radar, but yes: it's on Netflix since March 13th 2018.
  • Sword Gai: Yup, it's been added since March 23rd. Season 2 will be added at the end of July
  • Violet Evergarden: First anime to be released on a weekly basis in the west (except in the US, who got everything afterwards in one go, on April 5th).
  • Aggretsuko: Released April 20th. This is without a doubt the best anime of spring 2018! - Update: Confirmed on July 6th: Will receive a second season in 2019!
  • Mob Psycho 100: Oh how big the disappointment was when we noticed it was the Live-action adaptation instead of the anime.
  • The disastrous life of Saiki K Season 2 (first half): Added June 26th. The first season was added to the catalog only this spring, so I was pretty amazed we got the second season so soon afterwards... until I saw we got only half of it (booh!).
  • Fate/EXTRA Last Encore: Most recent addition: June 30th. Season 2 to be added later on.

Other series have been added where I live, but I noticed that's more due to local licenses from MangaUK (like One Punch Man & Saiki K) and French licensing, rather than being "Netflix originals" or netflix-sponsored shows.

One lucky shift is that more recently Netflix seems to be bothering more with Dutch subtitles, because only a few months ago half of the anime titles available on Netflix only had French subs/audio alongside the Japanese audio (which is really frustrating as a fan). Thank god, that has changed with the more recent additions.

To be released in 2018, from July onward:

Sources: ANN, Netflix itself, the official Netflix Youtube Channel and AnimeUKNews.net

Title About Release date
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle 2nd of the 3 Godzilla movies. Third one is released in theaters in October '18. So Netflix release will be somewhere in spring of 2019. July 5th
Sword Guy (season 2) Not the best of anime, but be "excited" for the second half this month! July 30th
Flavors of Youth (Shikioriori) A cooperation between ComicWave Films (the studio behind most Makoto Shinkai movies) and the Chinese Haoliners Animation League comes a collection of three shorts, woven together into a movie format. Hence the name Shikioriori or Poem of Seasons Woven Together. August 4th (worldwide)
Last Hope (Jūshinki Pandora) Total dud (around 5,5/10 on MAL), but we're getting this anyway. September 14 (first half), December 21 (second half)
Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan Studio Bones anime that aired in Japan this Spring season. September 21
The disastrous life of Saiki K Season 2 (2nd half) Not a Netflix-exclusive, but we're finally caught up now September 21
Gundam Unicorn Never expected a Gundam series to hit Netflix here, but it was added alongside Saiki S2. September 21
Piano Forest TV (dubbed as Forest of Piano) A new adaptation of this manga, this time a tv-series instead of a movie. Aired in Japan this spring season. September 28, 2018 (first season), 2019 (second season)
Lost Song Aired this spring in Japan. Slightly postponed from September to October 5th October 5th 2018
Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments Edit: Netflix has corrected its season 2 as "Signs of the Holy War", so when the the ACTUAL season 2 comes around, you will know. Japan has had the 24-episode run past Spring. To be seen if we get all 24 episodes in one go, though. October 15
Castlevania (Season 2) Yeah-yeah-yeah, not an anime. F**k it, it fits in this list! Also, third season is also greenlit for 2019! October 26th
Fate/EXTRA Last Encore: Illustrias Geocentric Theory We finally got a release date for the "second season" of Fate Extra... The full 3 episodes October 30
Ingress the Animation You remember that other game from Niantic (the one that is NOT Pokémon go)? It's getting an anime adaptation in October for some weird reason.
Update: Delayed with (at least) a month.
October 2018 (Japan), November 23(worldwide)
Baki My It's going to be a 2-cours run (26 episodes) and it will start airing this summer (Japan first release). Rest of the world is in Fall Japan: June 26th, Worldwide: December 18th (first half)
Tenrou: Sirius the Jaeger A P.A. Works anime about vampire hunters with music instruments (err, sure?). Japan: July '18, Worldwide: December 21st
Hi Score Girl Another J.C. Staff anime (huh, really). This one is about a boy who encounters a girl that's a genius at gaming. Twist: it's set in the early 90s. Japan: July 2018. Worldwide: 24 December
Back Street Girls: Gokudolls A J.C. Staff anime about Yakuza undergoing a sex operation to become idols (wut?). Obviously a seinen series. Japan: July 2018. Worldwide: Fall season 2018

 

Coming to Netflix in 2019

Title About Release date
Kakegurui (Season 2) Yeey, more of our favorite gambler! Japan: Fall 2018, Worldwide: Somewhere in 2019
B the Beginning (season 2) First season was so-so. But Netflix has renewed it for a second season. While originally scheduled for fall '18, that reference got removed later on. Now it's confirmed to be postponed to somewhere in 2019. Postponed to 2019
Cannon Busters Finally some more info on this LeSean Thomas project. It's been postponed to 2019. But as compensation, Boondock Saints has been added to the catalog (lol). April 1st 2019
Rilakkuma and Kaoru The only thing released this year is the teaser trailer (booh!). The actual release has been postponed to Spring 2019. Spring 2019
Ultraman An anime adaptation of the Ultraman series? Though this one is going to be based on the 2011 manga that just recently ended. Cool! Though... 3D CG series by Production I.G. has me a bit worried (they're... hit and miss). Spring 2019
Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya The new CG incarnation of the classic Saint Seiya story. Also delayed until 2019. But similarly, we got The Lost Canvas in the catalog as a compensation price? Somewhere in 2019
Kengan Ashura Fresh announcement from AnimeExpo. The adaptation of this martial arts anime is slated for a 2019 release. Somewhere in 2019
Revisions Recently announced. Slated for a January 2019 release in Japan, no confirmation if worldwide or Japan first. Japan: January 2019, Worldwide: Somewhere in 2019
Seis Manos Viz recently announced they would create an original anime for Netflix, created (US side) by the people behind the Castlevania series, but no Japanese studio has been confirmed yet. Somewhere in 2019
Aggretsuko (Season 2) Anime of the spring season has a 2nd season greenlit for 2019! Yeey! Somewhere in 2019
Forest of Piano (Season 2) As originally slated Somewhere in 2019
Baki (Second half) As originally slated Somewhere in 2019
Carole & Tuesday Original anime by Studio Bones, music-based Somewhere in 2019
Yasuke A collab between Lesean Thomas and Studio Mappa? Feudal Japan with mechs and magic? Sign me the heck up! No date confirmed
Seven Deadly Sins: Prisoners of the Sky (movie) The Seven Deadly Sins movie has been confirmed to get a Netflix release. Somewhere in 2019
Altered Carbon An animated spin-off from the live action series No date confirmed. Could be 2019.
Cagaster of an Insect Cage A Gonzo anime for Netflix, based upon the manga Mushikago no Cagaster? Interesting. But full CG?... No date confirmed

Oh, and if you want to cringe... A Sword Art Online Live Action adaptation has also been sold to Netflix. So if the anime wasn't bad enough, we can now cringe at real live actors reenacting that horrible story. I know a few anitubers that will love to tear this one apart.

Afterword

Now that Fate Last Encore is out, I'll be watching that (trainwreck) and write a review about it. Considering the score it's getting on review sites, I get the feeling I'm going to need some alcohol to finish it.

Follow-ups

July 6th-17th: Done a few additions in the past few weeks, based on AnimeExpo reveals.

July 17th: Did a retooling of the to-be-aired section, to make it easier overview.

September (gen.): A few minor tweaks as some release dates get fixed (7 Deadly sins, Saiki, Fate Extra) or postponed a bit (Piano Forest, Lost Song)

November: Added new titles, got a few delay updates.

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