Published Jul 12, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
Joshua Edward Ryan Fox is a freelance writer for Screen Rant with a passion for pop culture. Joshua grew up in Connecticut where he developed an appreciation for writing and entertainment and has earned a Master’s degree in professional writing and technical writing. His writing has been quoted by both the anime streaming site Crunchyroll and the anime YouTuber Gigguk.
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In recent years, it’s become undeniable that Netflix has become one of the best places for anime. Not only has Netflix gotten far better at simulcasting new anime as they air in Japan, a stark turnaround from when they would infamously wait months to release all episodes in a single sitting, but their original programming has also gotten amazing as they continually team up with high-profile studios like MAPPA and Studio Trigger, and they’re only going to get better as the years go on.
Netflix has steadily become a great place for anime, and that’s true not only for new titles, but older ones as well. Every year, Netflix continually fills out its library with older anime for fans to enjoy, and usually, it’s enough that they’re just streaming a show and making it easier to watch. That’s not the case with their latest acquisition, though, as not only did Netflix snag one of Prime Video’s best anime right from under them, but they’ve decided to improve it in every regard, and that’s something everyone can be happy about.
In a surprise announcement from Netflix, it’s been revealed that Netflix has acquired the streaming rights to MAPPA’s Banana Fish from Prime Video, with the entire series dropping on Netflix on August 12. Prime Video has been the exclusive home of Banana Fish outside of Japan since it first premiered in 2018, but very recently, Prime Video didn’t renew the license to Banana Fish, so it’s great that Netflix decided to pick the series up and keep it alive.
Netflix becoming the new home for Banana Fish is great, but it’s even better than fans could have hoped for. Rather than just putting the show on their site as-is, Netflix also revealed that Banana Fish will be dubbed in both English and French, with the English dub starring Brandon McInnis as Ash and Jonathan Tanigaki as Eiji. Despite its popularity, Prime Video never gave Banana Fish an English dub, so Netflix immediately jumping on the opportunity is a great service to the fans who have been waiting years for it.
Banana Fish getting an English dub is especially great considering Prime Video’s recent treatment of the series. In late 2025, Prime Video infamously released an AI-generated English Dub of Banana Fish that not only sounded as terrible as one would think, but also said that Prime Video would absolutely be willing to replace voice actors with AI just to save some money. That makes Netflix giving Banana Fish a real dub made by humans all the more important, and it’s a perfect example of why Netflix is such a great place for anime nowadays.
Netflix is going all out with its upcoming re-release of Banana Fish, and it’s a show that more than warrants it. In addition to having all the great art and animation that’s to be expected of an anime made by MAPPA, Banana Fish is an amazing series for its stellar drama, the great cast that’s involved with it, and for its incredibly healthy and mature depictions of war and homosexuality. Banana Fish’s themes of homosexuality are especially noteworthy because the manga began in the 1980s, and as shown in the anime, they still hold up incredibly well 40 years later.
Whether someone is looking for touching drama or intense action, Banana Fish never fails to deliver a quality story, and with Netflix giving the series a proper English dub that flies in the face of Prime Video’s AI dub, that’s truer now than ever. It’s easy to see that Banana Fish will be at its best when it officially leaves Prime Video for Netflix, and with that in mind, August 12 cannot come soon enough.
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