Netflixhas recently released its chart of the top anime series streamed in 2025 so far, and the results are honestly quite shocking. While seeing an older series likeNaruto Shippudenat the top is surprising enough, perhaps even more so is the high-ranking of a series that traditionally hasn’t done well in the West:Detective Conan.
The list as a whole is quite interesting to look at.Shippudentops the listat 40 million views, but not far behind it is the work of Studio Ghibli. Coming in third, with 38 million views, isDetective Conan, also known asCased Closed!in the US.Pokémonis nearly tied, whileOne Piecerounds out the top 5 with 28 million views.
The long-running Detective Series is Doing Shockingly Well
The numbers come from Netflix’s"What We Watched in the First Half of 2025"report, with some data analysis provided by Anime by the Numbers.Detective Conanbeat out juggernauts likeDemon Slayerin hours watched by a wide margin, and even topped newer series likeSakamoto Days.
Detective Conanis an extremely long-running anime, starting in 1996 and running almost continuously since. Although there are over 1,100 episodes that have been produced at this point, onlya small selection of episodes are currently available on Netflix, making the watch records all the more impressive.
WhileDetective Conanhas been consistently popular in Japan, the series has often had a troubled history making in-roads into Western markets. The series barely made it through 50 episodes when it aired on Cartoon Network due to low ratings. It seems that might finally be changing for the series, though, if these numbers are any indication.
Netflix’s Viewership Numbers Prove Old Anime Has Legs
With New Viewers Discovering Anime for the First Time, Old Anime Wins
One thing these viewership numbers prove is that an anime doesn’t have to be new to pull in major numbers. Older anime have larger back catalogs of episodes, and are attractive to viewers looking to binge-watch a series. With anime becoming more popular these days, many viewers are experiencing these old classics for the first time.
It’s certainly good to see that new anime fans are willing to dive into older series, and aren’t turned off by their art styles or animation. The numbers for the back half of 2025 are likely to change quite a bit, though, as hit series likeDandadanmake their return with new episodes. It will be interesting to see howDetective Conanfairs.
