Jujutsu Kaisen Leads Netflix Anime Viewership in First Half 2026

Netflix Japan has announced on X that Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 became the platform’s most-watched Japanese anime globally during the first half of 2026. The third season was released on the platform on Jan 9, 2026, and ran till March 27 on the platform, with weekly episode releases.

According to Netflix’s biannual What We Watched report released on July 17, Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 recorded 9.4M views during its run, with 46M viewing hours. While it's not much compared to the top-most live-action shows such as One Piece live action or Bridgerton season 4, it is notable given the fragmented global distribution of Jujutsu Kaisen Culling Game part 1.

Netflix premiered the season across selected Asian markets, including Japan, Singapore, and India. This means the reported figures are compiled from only a portion of both Netflix and JJK’s global audience.

Additionally, Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 and season 2 also accumulated 8.7M and 6.7M views during January to June 2026, as per the report. Similar to season 3, the previous seasons are not available on Netflix across all global markets.

Even so, the regional numbers place Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 among Netflix’s stronger anime performers of the half. During its run, the season reached the top 10 across 16 countries, while claiming the top spot in eight.

Beyond Jujutsu Kaisen: How Steel Ball Run and Other Anime Performed on Netflix in H1 2026

Netflix’s latest engagement report recorded more than 97B viewing hours across the platform during the first six months of 2026, the highest total for any half-year to date. It also informed that more than half of its members have now watched at least one anime title during this window.

While Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 claimed the spot for most-viewed anime, newer anime titles also closely followed behind. The Netflix-exclusive JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run sits at the second spot with 8.3M views on the platform.

What’s notable is that Steel Ball Run has only premiered its first episode on the streamer on March 19, with the second stage scheduled to release starting Sep 25, 2026. Director Shingo Yamashita’s take on Heian-era folklore of princess Kaguya, Cosmic Princess Kaguya, became the most viewed anime in the first half.

Anime viewership on Netflix in 2026 H1 other that JJK-

Among these titles, Record of Ragnarok season 3, which premiered in December 2025, recorded additional 11M views when it premiered, according to Netflix’s What We Watched in H2 2025 report. However, Netflix’s What We Watched report for H1 2026 did not disclose a consolidated anime viewing-hours.

Anime in Netflix’s H1 2025 vs H1 2026

In Netflix’s more detailed H2 2025 report, the streamer reported that anime accounted for roughly 4% of total viewing. Although the exact viewing hours are not revealed, the 2026 H1 numbers indicate a slowdown compared to the previous year.

Netflix’s What We Watched in the first half of 2025 report crowned Sakamoto Days as the platform’s most-watched new anime globally with 24M views. Sakamoto Days recorded more than double the views of Culling Game’s current reported numbers on the platform. While one of Big 3, Naruto, recorded 45M views across seasons at that time.

The streamer also recorded a 12.7% drop in total anime watch hours between the first and second halves of 2025. Combined with the lower recorded views in the first half of 2026, it reflects that anime’s rapid growth on the platform has cooled or that regional licensing has taken a blow in Netflix’s anime library.

However, the Japanese manga-based, One Piece live-action series drew 69M views, reinforcing the popularity of one of anime’s most renowned properties. One Piece TV anime was also the most-watched anime of 2025.

While anime’s viewing numbers plummeted, other animated offerings such as KPop Demon Hunters and Swapped performed well. KPop Demon Hunters added another 130M views during the same period despite premiering in 2025, while Swapped became the third most-viewed film on the platform, with 131M views, slightly above the 2025 breakout hit.

Disclaimer: The latest viewing data of Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 shows a discrepancy with previously released Tudum data, where only 5 weeks’ views totaled well over 10M.