In a recent interview with Japan Times (via /Film), Netflix’s director of anime Taito Okiura teased that 30 of the 700 original movies and TV shows that the streaming service will launch this year are going to be anime-related. That’s the latest move in Netflix’s attempts to seriously ramp up its anime library, which is apparently all because of Okiura. In the Japan Times piece, he explains that Netflix has been trying to hire him for a long time in hopes of bolstering its anime cred, as Okiura has over a decade of experience as an anime producer—he worked on Afro Samurai in 2007 and co-founded David Production Inc., the studio behind the hit JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. He’s also friends with Kun Gao, the co-founder of anime streaming site Crunchyroll, which helped secure anime’s digital future by decreasing fans’ dependence on piracy.
To help make these 30 shows and movies happen, Netflix has set up deals with Production I.G and Bones Inc., two established anime studios behind hits like Ghost In The Shell and My Hero Academia. Both of those companies even have new shows already launching on Netflix in March within a week of each other, so the streaming service’s new pro-anime initiative is already paying off.