Summary
Netflix's animated shorts hinder the storytelling potential and reputation of originals in the industry. Netflix's tendency to release limited episodes in anime releases can lead to rushed endings and underdeveloped plot points. To improve its anime offerings, Netflix must prioritize quality over quantity, focusing on creating shows worth watching and remembering.
While Netflix has been actively acquiring and raising capital cartoon, the trend of releasing these “originals” in limited volumes damages their potential and reputation. When a streaming service releases anime that are expected to be watched and completed in a few short hours, the impression it gives is that these shows are just unimportant filler chapters. Although this is not common, it raises the question of how Netflix views the anime industry.
Many new Netflix originals air with limited episodes. If a “short” anime in Japan usually consists of 12-13 episodes, the Netflix original is only a meager 10 to 4 episodes long. Often, this leads to compromised stories There's no time to explore all their spots.
However, the agency's continued emphasis on short performances creates the impression that they care more about boasting that they make anime than making good movies.
Netflix cartoons are hampered by a limited number of episodes
The repetitive pattern bodes poorly for original anime in the future
When revealing Terminator: Zero, Netflix's latest upcoming original, one notable detail was that it would only run for eight episodes. This puts it in line with several other Netflix-backed anime with similar runs, such as Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf, Onimusha, The Grimm Variables, and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. That also means it's prone to the same problems that many of these shows face, including a tendency to rush the ending amid underutilized plot points. With a model like that, it's hard to get excited, as the Terminator is likely to come out half-baked.
Regardless, the streaming service seems dead set on creating shows that are easy to watch and finished within a day. However, the question is how Netflix treats the anime industry. When it continuously offers forgettable, possibly intoxicating, shows, Netflix sends the message that their perception of anime is “junk food” or consumer data: something to watch quickly and then add to the “subscribers watched to the end” list. With that in mind, it's hard to feel enamored with Netflix originals, if they're designed not for art, or even effort, but just to distract.
Netflix could disrupt its model if it tried
Netflix also produces some of the best anime over the years
Some Netflix anime buck this trend, such as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Pluto: the former has a 10-episode story that's still a bit too quick, while the latter has seasons that are several hours long. While length isn't everything, it's no coincidence that this is one of Netflix's most popular anime, at least because they take the time to tell stories that are expansive enough to leave an impression.
If Netflix is serious about its anime aspirations, it needs to stop putting the cart before its proverbial horse and create shows worth watching, instead of assuming shows exist just to be watched.
