Since its launch on Aug. 8, the Netflix series "The Naked Director" has become a certifiable hit. Its audience score on the Rotten Tomatoes ratings site is 97 percent, and on the series' IMDB page, positive user reviews ("Truly amazing, realistic and captivating," "You will find tears, laughter, passion") far outnumber the negative.

Netflix does not release audience numbers, so the show's exact reception in the 190 countries the streaming service covers is something of a question mark. But there is proof Netflix is pleased: It has decided to underwrite a second season.

In Japan, critics and journalists have penned lengthy analyses of the series' success. A common observation is that "The Naked Director," which traces the career of 1980s porn director and entrepreneur Toru Muranishi (Takayuki Yamada) and his star actress, Kaoru Kuroki (Misato Morita), could have never been made as a network show here.