Wondering who is winning in the streaming wars in Japan in Q2, 2021?

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Presented below is the section for Japan from The Global Television Demand Report. Enjoy!

Japan Digital Original Genre and Subgenre Preference

• Japan is exceptional in that its share of demand for animated original content is significantly higher than other markets. Its 24.5% share of demand for this genre is more than four times as large as the global share of demand (6.0%).
• The children (2.0%) and drama (31.6%) genres make up a smaller share of demand for digital originals in Japan than any other market in this report.
• Of markets in this report, Japanese audiences gave the second largest share of demand to the reality (4.6%) and variety (2.2%) genres. While the outsize share of demand for animation has cut into the shares of other genres, these two have succeeded in Japan.

• Anime is by far the most in-demand digital original subgenre in Japan with more than twice the demand of the next most in-demand subgenre, superhero series.
• While the popularity of anime helps explain the success of animation more generally in Japan, the fact that animated comedy also ranks more highly here than in any other market in this report indicates that Japanese audiences love animation beyond just the anime subgenre.
• Crime drama was the 7th most in-demand subgenre in Japan in Q2 2021. This is lower than in any other market in this report and far lower than the global rank for this subgenre (#1).

Japan Platform Demand Share and Digital Originals Demand Distribution

• Of markets in this report, Japan had the largest share of demand for original content from Amazon Prime Video which had a 15.2% share of demand in Q2 2021.
• Original series from YouTube have had unique success in Japan where they account for 5.6% of demand for all original content.
• HBO Max’s 4.3% share of demand for digital originals in Japan was among the lowest of markets in this report and below the global share of demand for this platform’s content (4.8%).

• Japan was unique in this report as the only market where Fischers and the Lost Treasure was the most in-demand original series. The YouTube original attracted 14.8 times the average series demand for the quarter.
• The Naked Director, a local Japanese production from Netflix has succeeded in Japan this quarter where it was the 4th most in-demand original series–another example of Netflix’s winning strategy of producing local content to appeal to audiences around the world.
• Reality series from Amazon Prime Video (The Bachelor (JP)) and Discovery+ (Battlebots: Bounty Hunters) both rank highly in Japan and show how the reality genre is succeeding in this market.

Japan Platform Demand Share for Drama & Action/Adventure Digital Originals

• Amazon Prime Video’s dramas have had notable success in Japan. The platform’s original dramas accounted for 15.5% of demand for all digital original dramas in Q2 2021. This is the largest share the platform achieved in this category in this report.
• The share of demand for original dramas from Hulu (9.0%) in Japan is above the global share of demand for this platform’s dramas–5.7%. It is worth mentioning that Japan is the only non-US market with a Hulu branded platform.
• Just over the course of this quarter, HBO Max’s share of demand for original dramas has been cut in half, ending the quarter with a 1.4% demand share.

• Youtube Premium has found particular success in Japan with its original content which accounted for a 21.2% share of demand for action/adventure originals. Its series, Fischers and the Lost Treasure, was the most in-demand digital original series in Japan for the quarter.
• 12.3% of demand for action/adventure original series in Japan was for a Netflix original. This is the platform’s smallest share of demand in this genre in this report.
• Despite the additional competition from YouTube action/adventure originals in this market, the share of demand for Paramount+ originals in Japan (4.8%) exceeds its global share of demand (2.6%).

Top Digital Original Series in Japan

Here are the top 20 most in-demand streaming original series in Q2 2021 across all platforms in Japan:

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