Of all the streaming platforms to develop an interest in anime and Japanese television writ large, Disney Plus wouldn’t have even crossed my mind. And yet, this week, Disney Plus announced a “strategic collaboration” with Nippon TV. According to the press release shared via Variety, the deal covers “content sharing and local language co-production.” It’s one of those partnerships that just seems like a big deal, even if you don’t quite understand why.
In the joint statement, the companies say, “The collaboration will include co-production of local language content ranging from drama series, animation to variety shows on Disney Plus for both Japanese and global audiences and the availability of both companies’ content on their respective platforms.”
So, what does this announcement mean?
The first thing which struck me as interesting about this announcement is that Disney Plus is about to get a hell of a lot more Japanese-language content—which is exciting. On the other hand, one is curious as to whether Disney content will start airing on Nippon TV. The latter will likely only affect viewers in Japan, but the former has global implications.
Nippon TV’s content will start appearing on Disney Plus for both Japanese and worldwide viewers, starting with the live-action adaptation of the manga The Files of Young Kindaichi. This is incredibly significant for those of us curious about exploring the myriad offerings of a major Japanese broadcaster like Nippon TV, which, prior to this announcement, could be tricky to find.
To create a parallel for Americans, Nippon TV is somewhat analogous to NBC or ABC. It’s a channel with subsidiary local networks across Japan. Nippon TV creates its own content, from news to game shows to dramas—yes, game shows. One example of Nippon TV’s game show offerings is Mute It!, in which “contestants must not make any sounds above 50dB or the Sound Watchman will suddenly snatch you from the game.” The Sound Watchman wears a little red cape. If Disney Plus became a reliable center for Japanese game shows like this, I would be thrilled.
Nippon TV—which also owns Japanese Hulu—is very savvy about selling its shows to be localized into international markets. For example, they made Dragon’s Den, which became what Westerners would recognize as Shark Tank. And a localized version of the scripted drama Mother is apparently a mega-hit in Turkey. However, if you’re hoping that the Japanese versions of a bunch of Nippon TV dramas will pop up on Disney Plus, take note that Nippon TV sold thirty titles to Netflix as recently as October 2021.
Disney Plus is making a serious push for anime, and Nippon TV could fit into this, too. Nippon TV has an impressive library of anime among its original programming, including Death Note, My Hero Academia, Hunter x Hunter (the good one from 2011), InuYasha, and Lupin the Third. Any of these would be a huge boost to Disney Plus, but many of them are already licensed to other platforms. So, will Death Note pop up on Disney Plus? Will Ryuk and Mickey Mouse suddenly be on the same platform?! It’s hard to say, but certainly a tantalizing possibility.
The Disney Plus anime grab, even outside of Nippon TV, is intense. One upcoming Disney Plus anime is an adaptation of Disney Twisted-Wonderland, a mobile game in which the creator of Black Butler answers the question, “What if the houses of Hogwarts were based on Disney villains?” And on an incredibly different note, Disney Plus also somehow snagged the rights to Yojohan Time Machine Blues, the sequel to The Tatami Galaxy. Both series take place in the same universe as The Night is Short, Walk On Girl. All three are developed by Science SARU. Both Tatami and Night is Short are deeply excellent (Tatami is one of my all-time favorite anime), but do not scream “Disney” to me in the slightest.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. But, on a final note, I would be remiss if I did not add that The Walt Disney Corporation has been in hot water in the U.S. recently, following CEO Bob Chapek’s lackluster response to Florida’s abhorrent “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Disney’s LGBTQ+ employees are pissed with Chapek and the higher-ups at Disney for: 1) not taking a stand until it was too late and 2) funding the campaigns of every single lawmaker who signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. One of the most vocal has been Dana Terrace (who created The Owl House). Terrace put out an incredibly powerful statement saying, “I hate having moral quandaries about how I feed myself and how I support my loved ones.”
(via Variety, featured image: Disney Plus)
