David Farnor | On 16, Sep 2015

Update: Ajin: A Demi-Human will be released on Netflix UK on Tuesday 12th April.

Netflix will premiere the popular anime Ajin: A Demi-Human in 2016, as part of a new deal.

The agreement with Polygon Pictures will see the series arrive on Netflix in Japan three days after its original broadcast date in its home country. Shortly after, it will then be released all-at-once around the world for other Netflix subscribers.

The 13-episode show is based on the manga by Gamon Sakurai, AJIN: Demi–Human, published by Kodansha Ltd., and follows a young high–school student, who is hit by a truck and dies – only to discover that he is, in fact, demi–human, an Ajin. What he finds are dozens of others who are also Ajins, all of whom are being hunted and trying to survive.

Anime has often struggled to find broadcast options outside of Japan, with the free, ad-supported Viewster offering legal access to – and often live simulcasts of – new series. Now, though, Netflix, is stepping up its anime game. Last summer, a separate deal with Polygon brought Knights of Sidonia exclusively to the site.

The new agreement also follows the launch of Netflix in Japan at the beginning of September 2015. This, in turn, was closely followed by the announcement of Netflix’s first Japanese original series, as the VOD service continues its strategy of commissioning and acquiring content that attracts audiences in each of its new territories.

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