Since the Netflix producers began adding anime to their catalog, they have attracted a significant number of viewers interested solely in this content, even competing against Crunchyroll, the streaming platform dedicated exclusively to showcasing these titles.
A few months ago, the leading streaming service took a step further by announcing a crossover between two of their most-watched shounen series: “Baki the Grappler” and “Kengan Ashura.”
Thus, “Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura” was born, featuring battles between characters from both series and quickly climbing to the top of Netflix’s charts worldwide. Will the entertainment company replicate this success?
Will Netflix produce other anime collaborations like ‘Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura’ in the future?
It’s quite likely! Firstly, it’s important to note that while anime crossovers are not an everyday occurrence, they are quite common, such as the famous “Dream 9 Toriko x One Piece x Dragon Ball Z Super Special Collaboration” or “Fairy Tail x Rave”.
Moreover, given Netflix’s tendency to replicate successful formulas, it wouldn’t be far-fetched for them to initiate discussions with shounen manga creators whose works are already on their platform to make them collaborate with each other.
However, this may be the most challenging aspect. Bringing together series like “Baki” and “Kengan Ashura” was relatively straightforward because both were licensed by Netflix. In contrast, attempting a crossover between, for example, “Hunter x Hunter” and “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” could prove much more difficult, if not impossible, due to the rights belonging to animation studios that may be hesitant to give them away.
Consequently, Netflix would need to replicate the strategy they employed for “Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura”, but with other shounen series in their catalog. However, most of these are not very popular. Therefore, the streamer would need to actively seek out beloved manga series whose creators are willing to collaborate with them or engage in complex negotiations for the rights to iconic shonens such as “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “Demon Slayer,” and more.
