Highlights
- Chainsaw Man recorded Crunchyroll’s highest view count after launch, later overtaken by Solo Leveling.
- MAPPA self-funded the anime, bypassing the traditional production committee model to control global distribution and revenue.
- The success reinforced MAPPA’s push toward international markets, including partnerships with Netflix.
MAPPA CEO Manabu Otsuka has confirmed that Chainsaw Man season 1, which premiered on Crunchyroll in October 2022, held the platform's highest view count record at the time of release. Otsuka disclosed this in a recent interview with writer Tokuriki, published via Yahoo! Japan. Specific viewing data and the period it held the record were not mentioned.
“With this achievement, it gave me the feeling that Chainsaw Man was a work that would be supported more globally than domestically,” stated Otsuka while talking about the release strategy behind Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc. The movie is also streaming on Crunchyroll from April 30, 2026.
Crunchyroll, noted for its low transparency, does not publicly report the platform's streaming figures. Earlier in June 2025, Sony announced that Solo Leveling holds the highest view count on the platform (as of March 2025). With Sony’s declaration, it can be estimated that the Webtoon-adapted anime overtook the benchmark that Chainsaw Man had set nearly three years earlier.
Chainsaw Man: MAPPA’s High-Stakes Bet That Paid Off
Otsuka talked about the influence of global streaming services on Chainsaw Man’s success. Unlike the anime industry's standard committee model, MAPPA fully funded the project, taking complete responsibility for marketing, overseas distribution, and merchandizing.
Chainsaw Man’s Crunchyroll performance validated the studio's decision. Additionally, Otsuka mentioned that Reze Arc was part of season one of the anime series; however, the studio decided to incorporate a challenging format and created the theatrical film, Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc.
As per Otsuka’s statements, he always took Chainsaw Man’s streaming performance for global distributors into consideration. MAPPA also contemplated whether to distribute the Chainsaw Man season 1 compilation film through streaming or in theaters.
Ultimately, the film was globally released on Netflix and stayed on top of the domestic weekly Top 10 chart for a significant amount of time.
Simultaneously, the studio has announced a strategic distribution partnership with Netflix, with Otsuka stating the goal extends beyond accessing viewing data. MAPPA’s primary objective is to market anime to a global audience and appeal to more of Netflix's subscriber base. Chainsaw Man’s streaming milestone became one of MAPPA’s global successes that pivoted the studio's broader global ambition.
