Netflix Releasing New Anime Documentary

Netflix has been at the forefront of the anime revolution that’s been sweeping the globe the past few years, offering both licensed and original anime content to fans and newcomers alike. Now the streaming service is taking a step back and helping to educate viewers on what anime is all about!

What’s on Netflix has announced that Netflix will debut a new anime-focused documentary called Enter the Anime. It will premiere on the service starting on August 5th. It will feature Tania Nolan, a newcomer to the anime genre, delving into the history of the genre, in the hope of giving it more mainstream exposure and understanding.

You can check out the official synopsis for the project, below:

“Seeking to understand anime, Tania Nolan interviews filmmakers behind notable productions from “Castlevania” to “Aggretsuko,” “Kengan Ashura” and more.

On a cynical note, Enter the Anime is going to be directly beneficial for Netflix, in the sense that the documentary will not-so-coincidentally be looking at series like Castlevania and Aggretsuko, popular anime titles that are exclusive to Netflix itself. In other words: Enter the Anime is a clear way for Netflix to promote awareness and interest in its own content.

However, while the documentary’s exploration of anime may be self-serving, there’s still clear benefit for longtime anime fans to tune in. The documentary will offfer exclusive interviews with some big names in anime and beyond, as revealed in the initial breakdown by What’s on Netflix:

“Among the anime featured in the show are some of Netflix’s biggest anime titles such as Castlevania, Aggretsuko and Kengang Ashura. In the description, it says we can expect interviews with the creators of these shows meaning we’d expect to hear from Adi Shankar, Warren Ellis who is behind Castlevania, Seiji Kishi and Makoto Uezu behind Kengan Ashura and Rarecho behind Aggketsuko.

Other names that are pegged to be involved include Kozo Morishita who is behind Netflix’s Saint Seiya series, Yoko Takahashi behind the Neon Genesis Evangelion soundtrack and Shinji Aramaki who has worked on Fullmetal Alchemist.”

As stated, anime has blown up into a full-on mainstream form of media content across the globe in the last few years. What started in the 2000s with shows like Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Cowboy Bebop, and Neon Genesis Evangelion, has now grown into a modern reality where titles like Dragon Ball Super, Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Boruto, and many other titles get mainstream hype, as well as simulcast deals that have them airing in the US at the same time they premiere in Japan. Meanwhile, mainstream streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have been rapidly expanding their anime libraries, while anime and manga-focused services like Crunchyroll, Funimation, or Shonen Jump have re-organized themselves to provide content to fans worldwide, as quickly as possible.

In other words: now is truly the time to Enter the Anime, if you’re still trying to learn what this movement is all about.

Enter the Anime premieres on Netflix on August 5th.