With the recent announcements made by both Netflix Japan and Amazon Japan that they will be putting out original locally made content, the country seems to be moving further into the age of internet-based TV. And it appears that the team at Netflix could be one step ahead with the recent release of its latest homegrown show.
"Hibana" ("Spark") became available to stream via the service on June 3, and the title is currently available in 190 countries and territories — a first for Netflix Japan — and subtitled in 19 languages, with the ultimate aim to have that number reach 24. The 10-episode drama is based on the Akutagawa Prize-winning novel by comedian Naoki Matayoshi, which has sold more than 2.5 million copies, and Netflix is hopeful for a high viewer count both at home and abroad.
"It's just a really good story, when it comes down to it," Greg Peters, president of Netflix Japan, tells The Japan Times at the company's office in Tokyo's Aoyama neighborhood. "While it's set in this manzai (Japanese stand-up comedy) world, which can seem extremely domestic in one sense, the core story elements are really about the interaction between two people. And this human interaction is set in a broader theme of what happens when you fall in love with an art form and pursue it despite all rational reasons not to. I think that these two elements have a degree of universality to them."