Netflix has already released a stacked slate of anime this year. Season 2 of Dandadan is currently airing and Japan with a simulcast on Netflix and Crunchyroll. Witch Watch has been delighting viewers, while The Summer Hikaru Died has been terrifying us, and its latest release, Leviathan, is a head-first dive into a new steampunk world. But, the streamer recently released its semi-annual viewership statistics, and its most popular anime of the year so far might come as a big surprise to fans.
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As well as the above shows, Netflix also played host to one of the most anticipated anime of the Winter 2025 season. Sakamoto Days, based on the manga by Yuto Suzuki, was billed as one of the big new releases of this year, with Suzuki’s manga being a massive hit for Shueisha. The first cour of Season 1 dropped earlier this year, with cour 2 now being released weekly on Netflix. The series has been a mixed bag with fans and critics, so it might surprise you to learn how popular the show has actually been.
Netflix’s Most Popular Anime of 2025 Is an Unexpected Hit
According to Netflix’s “What We Watched” report for the first half of 2025, Sakamoto Days has been the overwhelming favorite of users across the globe. Per the report, the series amassed 24.4 million reviews over the first half of 2025. This vastly overshadows the second-place spot, Devil May Cry, which accrued 18.2 million.
What’s most surprising is how strongly Sakamoto Days managed to dominate Dandadan on Netflix. The latter, which is one of the best-reviewed ongoing series, earned just 7.5 million viewers. However, it should be noted that Dandadan is also released weekly on Crunchyroll. Sakamoto Days also bested Netflix’s other popular release of 2025, The Apothecary Diaries, which earned 7.8 million views.
The report collects figures from Netflix users across the globe. While Sakamoto Days might not have been a sensation in the US, international viewers are clearly obsessed with the action/comedy series.
Why Is Sakamoto Days‘ Success So Surprising?
Sakamoto Days premiered on Netflix on January 11th, with its first cour running for 11 episodes. Yuto Suzuki’s manga is a fan favorite, and fans had high hopes for the adaptation, animated by TMS Entertainment. However, when the series dropped, many felt underwhelmed by the quality of the show. While it’s nowhere near as bad as the likes of The Beginning After the End, Sakamoto Days‘ fight scenes felt poorly animated to many, and social media was flooded with negative reactions to the first few episodes.
Thankfully, the series appears to have learned from its mistakes. Cour 2 of Sakamoto Days is now being released weekly on Netflix, and the show has vastly improved on its animation quality and fight scenes. The series returned to the streamer on July 21st, and new episodes will be released weekly on Mondays.
Have you been watching Sakamoto Days? Are you surprised that it’s Netflix’s most popular anime this year (so far)? Let us know in the comments below…
H/T: Netflix
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