Hitoshi One, the filmmaker behind Japanese features Bakuman and Scoop! as well as recent series Tokyo Swindlers, has signed an exclusive deal with Netflix that will see the streaming giant produce and distribute new films and series by the director over the next five years.
One began his career as a director on TV series and music videos, and made his feature debut in 2011 with Love Strikes! (also known as Moteki), a romantic comedy based on the manga by Mitsuro Kubo. The film won most popular title at the Japan Academy Awards. His 2015 film Bakuman, another manga adaptation, also saw One win a directing award at the 39th Japan Academy Awards.
One’s recent series Tokyo Swindlers, which he also co-wrote, ranked in the Netflix Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) chart for five consecutive weeks and held the leading spot in the Netflix Top 10 TV in Japan for six consecutive weeks, according to the streamer.
“Two weeks after Tokyo Swindlers started streaming, I received a proposal from Netflix for an exclusive contract,” said One. “I was surprised at how quickly I responded, but I realised that I was drawn to the distribution medium, a genre that is not yet as established as film and TV dramas.”
Kaata Sakamoto, Netflix’s vice president of content in Japan, said: “Through Mr. One’s one-of-a-kind perspective, we will discover stories that have yet to be told.”
In July, Netflix signed a similar exclusive five-year deal with Aki Isoyama, producer of series Extremely Inappropriate! and Ikebukuro West Gate Park.
Further Japanese titles on Netflix’s slate this year have included City Hunter, Drawing Closer and House Of Ninjas. In 2023, Japanese-language content was the third most-viewed non-English content on the streaming platform, behind Korean and Spanish.
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