Japanese slate coming to Netflix in 2025 is extremely impressive

Japan movies and series have not consistently reached the heights of interest on Netflix that Korean projects have, but Japan is not far behind. Recently released Asura makes for fabulous viewing, for instance. One soon-to-be-released action film also appears to be on that track.

The good news is there are a vast number of Japanese items coming to your favorite streaming service in 2025. That includes the return of potentially one of your favorite series on Netflix. (It should be anyway.)

So what projects are arriving and when? The list is below. Some of the exact dates are even known!

Slate of Japanese movies and series coming to Netflix in 2025 is excellent

Demon City (February 27)

A pure live-action thriller, the source material comes from manga where a hitman goes on a revenge tour after he has lost his family. "Lost" is quite terminal, sadly. It seems to be a bit John Wick-like and there is zero wrong with that.

Bullet Train Explosion (April 23)

The original Bullet Train film came out 50 years ago and this is a revamping of that. If this movie is anywhere close to the original, Netflix viewers will get a winner. The original inspired Speed, so you might want to watch every version of Bullet Train made. You probably will not be disappointed. Plus, this was filmed using actual bullet trains. Tom Cruise would probably have loved being part of the project.

Glass Heart season 1 (July)

A drummer is kicked out of her band but is invited to join a new one. Her talent is discovered once with the new group and good things happen. Also, likely a lot of drama. That is just a safe guess, though.

Soul Mate season 1 (August)

This series is going to take us on a bit of a journey, it seems. Two young men fall in love and we get to watch their relationship develop over 10 years. Lots of locations are involved as well, including Seoul, Tokyo, and Berlin.

Romantic Anonymous season 1 (October)

Two people have a love of chocolate which leads to a chance encounter. The two featured characters have major issues, though. She cannot make eye contact, and he cannot touch people. It sounds like every relationship I have ever been in.

Last Samurai Standing season 1 (November)

If you love Squid Game, then you will probably love this project based on the synopsis. At the end of the Edo period, samurai have lost their prestige, and many find themselves in the same place, fighting for the same 100 billion yen prize. Kaata Sakamoto, Netflix Japan content head, has said one should expect "Shōgun’ meets ‘Squid Game.'"

10Dance (December)

If you liked 1993's Strictly Ballroom, you will probably like this romance as well. The synopsis is that two rival ballroom dancers join together to try to win ten competitive dances.

Alice in Borderland season 3 (to be determined)

There are some parts of the series that might remind you of Squid Game (people have to compete in games to survive), but the big difference is that people tend to want to join together to help one another. As the name implies, this is an upside-down of the real world, but the first two seasons were fantastically thrilling, so season 3 likely will be, too.