Netflix announced an expanded strategic partnership with MAPPA Co., Ltd. on January 21, 2026. Under it, new original MAPPA-produced anime will premiere exclusively and simultaneously worldwide on Netflix, and the two companies will work together across a range that Netflix describes as running from story development to merchandise.
The scope is the story, not the exclusivity
Streaming exclusivity is the headline, but the more unusual term is how far up and down the chain the collaboration reaches. Extending a partnership into story development and merchandising means Netflix is involved before a title exists and after it airs, rather than acquiring finished work.
That matches how MAPPA has operated. Netflix points to Chainsaw Man, where the studio took a studio-driven approach to developing and merchandising the intellectual property itself, and to Jujutsu Kaisen, which it credits with helping drive the global rise of Japanese anime.
Why MAPPA frames it around independence
MAPPA president and chief executive Manabu Otsuka described the expanded partnership as grounded in the studio's belief in remaining independent, creatively and commercially, arguing that Japanese animation studios need to lead every stage — from understanding global audiences and developing projects through to reaching viewers and expanding related businesses.
That is a pointed framing for a deal that hands worldwide exclusivity to a single platform, and it is the tension worth watching. Kaata Sakamoto, Netflix's vice president of content for Japan, put the company's side as combining MAPPA's production approach with Netflix's global reach.
The audience numbers behind the deal
Netflix says more than half of its members watch anime, and that anime viewership on the service has tripled over the past five years. Those are company-supplied figures without a published baseline or methodology, but they explain the commercial logic: anime has moved from a category to a core part of the catalogue.
What has not been announced
No titles, release dates, episode counts or financial terms accompany the announcement, and the size of the exclusive slate is not stated. Whether existing MAPPA series are affected is not addressed. NexusGG has not independently verified the viewership figures.
