Anime is the leading content source in Japan and also the most followed topic as well. People of Japan tend to watch anime on a daily basis and this data is reflected in the recently released list by a survey agency that demonstrated the most-streamed shows in Japan in 2021.

The list was totally dominated by the anime shows across all the streaming services in the country and outclassed worldwide popular shows like Squid Game, WandaVision, Money Heist & many more that were highly recommended by the fans in 2021.

A Japanese agency, GEM Partners conducted a survey last year whose main objective was to find which media franchise was most popular in 2021. For this, the agency asked around 7000 people, between the age of 15 and 69, each week for an entire year and published the report on their official website.

So, check out the complete list of most-streamed shows in Japan in 2021 that was watched around the country by fans.

10. Kingdom

Kingdom is a historical anime series based on the manga written & illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara which provides a fictionalized account of the ‘Warring States Period.’ The series aired its Season 3 last year and completed its run in late October.

The anime is about a war orphan, Xin who fights along with his comrades to become the greatest general under the heavens. On the path filled with trials and bloodshed, Xin wishes to unify the territories of China for the first time in 500 years. Its manga counterpart has registered its name in the Guinness Book of World Records for manga written by most people.

9. One Piece

One Piece is entertaining its fans for the last 23 years and its journey is remarkable till now. With more than 1000 manga chapters and anime episodes, it has set milestones that no one ever can break. Moreover, it is the 2nd best-selling comic book in the world with a total sales of 490 million copies.

But, 2021 was a special year for the franchise as it completed 1000 episodes of anime television series, released its 1000th manga chapter and 100th volume of the manga series, all these achievements in a single year. And also announced a new One Piece film for the next year.

Just like every year, One Piece broke into the list of most-streamed shows in Japan in 2021. And, once again another successful year ended for the franchise and the creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda who is currently the richest manga writer of all time.

8. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most-watched 90s shows and surprisingly, this anime doesn’t have any source material. In 2021, the franchise released its fourth and final film of the series titled “Evangelion 3.0+1.0”. The film was a critical hit that earned 800 million yen on its first day of the initial release.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is set fifteen years after the worldwide cataclysm, particularly in the futuristic fortified city of Tokyo-3. Shinji, the main protagonist, is recruited by his father to a shadowy organization ‘Nerv’ to pilot a giant bio-machine mecha named “Evangelion”.

He prepares him for the combat against beings called “Angels”. The series explores the experiences and emotions of Evangelion pilots and members of Nerv as they try to prevent Angels from causing more cataclysms.

7. My Hero Academia

2021 was a great year for My Hero Academia as it released its 5th installment of the anime television series, a video game adaptation, light novels and the third movie of the franchise titled “My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission”.

The film performed very well at the box office and grossed a total of US $29.3 million in Japan alone (as of Dec 2021). The fifth season of the series, which was outlasted for almost 7 months, also did a great job in keeping the franchise on track.

In 2021, MHA was on the 5th spot of highest selling manga series with a total sales of 7.02 million copies breaking its past two years records. A 6th season has also been announced for the franchise which is scheduled to release in October 2022.

6. Slime

Isekai anime is generally a very interesting subject to ponder over because of its unique concept and reincarnation theories. But, earning a yearly income of US $35 million through an isekai genre is not an easy task. However, TenSura proved it wrong by achieving this milestone in the year 2021.

TenSura, also known as That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, is considered to be the best isekai anime series. The journey of a mere slime named Rimuru Tempest is quite interesting to watch. And, the effort of Studio 8bit towards the animation & fight scenes of the show is also admirable.

All these minor details helped a series like TenSura to prove its worth in the competitive anime industry. With the release of Season 2 and a game adaptation in 2021, the series received a lot of praise from the fans that reflected in the franchise’s popularity chart as well.

5. Case Closed

Detective Conan, also called Case Closed in the English version, is well-known anime series for its engaging episodes filled with mystery-solving cases using different clever techniques by the main character Shinichi Kudo.

Shinichi Kudo is a 17-year-old high school detective whom people call the “Modern Sherlock Holmes”. However, one night after a date with his childhood sweetheart Ran, Shinichi he’s drugged that was supposed to kill him but he woke up and found himself shrunken to a 7-year-old.

In order to track down the men who did this to him, Shinichi reinvents his identity as Conan Edogawa and lives with Ran disguising as her father and working as a detective solving a series of murders and mysteries. The show is a classic hit and is undoubtedly one of the most-streamed shows in Japan in 2021.

4. Attack On Titan

Only a few weeks are left until we will bid farewell to one of the most amazing shonen anime series of all time. Currently, Attack On Titan is premiering its final season of the series and is standing neck-to-neck with its competitors. Even in its final moments, the franchise doesn’t look like settling down with less.

With a net income of a whopping US $37 million it has become the 7th highest-earning anime franchise of 2021. The year saw the end of Attack On Titan manga and fans were crazy about watching & reading the final volume of the series which eventually lead to manga sales of 7.3 million in a year.

Blu-ray Discs, DVDs and music CDs sales played a big role in increasing the popularity of the Attack On Titan franchise of different streaming services and as a result, it entered the top 10 list without any difficulties.

3. Tokyo Revengers

When the TV anime series Tokyo Revengers was premiered in April 2021 no one ever imagined that the series will be such a huge success. Its popularity level kept increasing in such a rapid manner that it broke several records in a very short time. And, next year the franchise is all set to release Tokyo Revengers Season 2.

Written & illustrated by Ken Wakui, the manga sold more than 30 million copies (physical & digital sales) in just a couple of months right after the release of the anime. Currently, Tokyo Revengers manga has more than 50 million copies in circulation out of which 90% sales happened in 2021 alone.

Moreover, the series also outshined franchises like One Piece and Attack On Titan in the late run of 2021 at every media platform ranging from manga sales to TV anime rankings. And, adding more to their list the franchise earned the tag of most-streamed shows in Japan in 2021.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen has made its name in the big league of the anime industry in just a couple of years. It’s now hailed to be the best new-gen anime series and is also the top-selling manga of 2021. And, now with the release of the Jujutsu Kaisen movie, it’s riding on the top of the anime industry.

All this happened right after the release of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime in October 2020. With a dark build-up and funny elements blended nicely, Studio MAPPA delivered the show to the audience very nicely. And, the popularity of the show impacted the manga sales that kept increasing by each month making 31 million sales in 2021 alone.

The franchise ended its profitable year successfully with a total income of US $160 million. Moreover, the franchise also released its first movie titled “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” on Dec 24th which broke several box-office records in just a couple of weeks. And, all this hard work was appreciated by the fans as they made it one of the best shows of the year.

1. Demon Slayer

Demon Slayer is undoubtedly the best anime franchise in the Japanese industry in the current situation. Not just in terms of popularity but also, the show has been turned out to be very profitable for the makers and the concerning media companies.

According to Oricon rankings, in 2021 alone, Demon Slayer earned a massive collection of US $232 million by its different media sales including manga and other means of entertainment. A big part of it came from the box-office collection of the movie “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” which is now the highest-grossing anime movie of all time.

Apart from the manga & movie tickets sales, the franchise made a huge impact on the Japanese fans especially the children which eventually lead to skyrocketing views on streaming services. And, with the release of Demon Slayer Season 2 in the last half of the year, the franchise became the most-streamed show in Japan in 2021.

With this, our list of most-streamed shows in Japan in 2021 comes to an end. We hope you liked it. Let us know in the comments section, what was your most-streamed show in 2021?

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