Man, this new Demon Slayer arc entered into the action rather quickly and I’m already in awe once again at ufotable’s animating skills every week as our heroes attempt to tackle the new upper ranked demons. Oh, uh, let me be clear I’m talking about the NEW Demon Slayer arc that’s currently airing: the Swordsmith Village Arc. Yet this week I see news articles about Netflix adding the Entertainment District Arc to their service. As a diehard anime fan, I’m dumbfounded. Is anyone waiting THIS long to see the continuation of one of most popular shounen in the industry currently airing? Let’s look at the dates.
According to good old Wikipedia, the Entertainment District Arc was originally broadcast in Japan from December 5, 2021 to February 13, 2022. It was added to Netflix a few days ago on the first of May. As in, over a year later from the last day of the original broadcast’s conclusion. What the fuck? This is another reason I struggle so much to find a quality streaming service for anime. I understand you need time to organize the licensing agreements, add in some professional subtitles, and upload the material. However, does all that really require over a year to prepare? These days it’s hard enough to wait to watch the latest episode of a popular episode due to spoilers circulating around the internet. But Netflix expects an anime fan to sit around and wait over a fucking year to watch an old arc? Maybe if the shit was “Big Doctor’s Big Apple Adventure” that nobody cares about I could understand it more. I expect a best foot forward for bringing Demon Slayer to Western audiences considering its wide appeal, and if this is their best timing I have to say I don’t expect anime fans ever signing up.
Me trying to understand the audacity of this company.
I honestly would love to pay $10-20 a month for an anime streaming site with reliable servers, a solid catalog that covers seasonal anime, professional translations, and speedy uploads. Yet so far every service seems to have an issue with one if not multiple of these basic features. Until we see some form of solution, I’ll be “making do” as they say. Are you watching Demon Slayer? Would you wait a whole year and some months after something airs to watch it? Will we ever see a paid anime service that’s worth the cost? Grab your sword, control your breathing, and more importantly for Netflix users control your patience in the comments below!
