Terminator Zero commands anime ratings on Netflix's Global Top 10; My Hero Academia Season 7 makes gains on local chart

Netflix's anime spinoff of James Cameron's timeliness Terminator films may have received mixed individual reviews, but the awe-inspiring sci-fi heavy series is a big hit. Its viewership numbers alone make a case for how significantly anticipated this eight-episode release was in the anime realm. In a unique collaborative partnership between Skydance and Japanese studio Production I.G., Terminator Zero maps out a new chapter of the franchise lore in the all-too-familiar terrain of time travel. 

“A warrior from a post-apocalyptic future travels to 1997 to protect an AI scientist being hunted by an unfeeling — and indestructible — cyborg,” reads the official Netflix description of Mattson Tomlin's creation. While expanding the Terminator universe, the August 29 premiere instantly drifts its focus to a brand-new roster of characters we haven’t met before. 

Within days of its exclusive Netflix premiere, Terminator Zero climbed the charts, securing sixth place on the most-watched TV (non-English) shows in the fifth week of August. The weekly data spanning August 26 through September 1 accounted for 6,400,000 hours viewed in its first week on the Netflix Global TV (non-English) list. The latest anime crossover garnered 1.7 million views, becoming the only anime title to rank on the Global Top 10 titles this week. 

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Anime Ratings in Japan 

Meanwhile, in Japan, a different picture unfolded. Oshi no Ko Season 2 continued its eight-week spell on Netflix’s Top 10 TV list in Japan at #7, being the sole-ranking anime among other TV shows. 

The local viewership chart for the Kanto region in Japan, provided by Video Research, showed a different set of anime titles at the top. Nippon TV’s August 31 broadcast of My Hero Academia Season 7 Episode 15 impressively made gains on the TV anime ratings chart despite long-running and uncontested household staples like Doraemon, Chibi Maruko-chan and Crayon Shin-chan in the race. The beloved superhero anime only came second to the unbeatable legacy of Sazae-chan leading the list like always. 

Regardless of Sazae-chan sitting atop the Kanto region viewership chart, My Hero Academia Season 7 scored an average household viewership rating of 5.1%. At the same time, other popular ongoing shows like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 and One Piece also secured vital ranks on the Top 10 anime chart for the final week of August. The former took fifth place with 4.4% average household viewership ratings. Meanwhile, One Piece stood at #7 with a 2.8% score.

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August Anime TV Rankings (Week 5 for Kanto region)

(Kanto region data source: Video Research