Netflix is no longer anime fans' first choice. A new 2026 user survey shows the streamer losing the top spot in the anime streaming war, CBR Anime reports — a striking result given how aggressively Netflix has invested in the medium.

The twist is that the overall pie keeps growing. The survey lands amid massive anime viewership growth, meaning Netflix isn't losing because interest is fading — it's losing share of an expanding audience to competitors that fans apparently prefer for their anime fix.

Netflix has spent years building its anime position with exclusives, licensed catalogs, and splashy live-action adaptations of titles like One Piece. But dedicated fans have long gravitated toward specialist platforms with deeper seasonal simulcast lineups. If the survey reflects a durable shift rather than a snapshot, it suggests the generalist-streamer strategy of prestige exclusives isn't enough to hold the core anime audience on its own.