Global streaming group Netflix has entered into a partnership with ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ director Hitoshi One. As part of the deal, Netflix will exclusively produce and distribute new series and films from One for the next five years.
One made his film directorial debut in 2011 with the theatrical version of ‘Moteki’, an adaptation of a Japanese manga and for which he received the Most Popular Title award at the 35th Japan Academy Awards. He also received the Best Director award at the 39th Japan Academy Awards for 2015, titled ‘Bakuman’, and the top prize in the TV category at the 60th Galaxy Awards for ‘Elpis: Hope or Disaster’.
Oh works in both live action and animation formats, film and TV and has other credits including: ‘Scoop!’ from 2016; “Tornado Girl” from 2017; “Sunny: Tsuyoi Kimochi Tsuyoi Ai”; TV miniseries “Kyouen NG”; and last year “New Dimension! Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Battle of Supernatural Forces Flying Sushi.
His “Tokyo Swindlers” debuted in July this year and spent five consecutive weeks on the Netflix Global Top 10 TV (non-English) and was No. 1 on the Netflix Top 10 TV in Japan for six consecutive weeks.
“Two weeks after ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ started streaming, I received an offer from Netflix for an exclusive contract. I was surprised at how quickly I responded, but I realized I was drawn to the distribution medium, a genre not yet as established as film and TV dramas,” One said in a prepared statement.
“Sir. One has generously demonstrated his creative talents in ‘Tokyo Swindlers’, an exciting story with quirky characters full of humanity. The series has become one of the most watched shows in Japan on Netflix. Through the unique perspective of Mr. One, we will explore stories yet to be told and provide entertainment that will captivate viewers around the world,” said Sakamoto Kaata, Netflix’s vice president of content in Japan.
Other Netflix titles from Japan this year include action (“City Hunter,” “House of Ninjas”) and unscripted (“The Boyfriend”). For the rest of the year, “Beyond Goodbye” is the first Netflix Japan title selected for the On Screen Section of the Busan International Film Festival, and is inspired by a true story from Netflix’s executive producer Okano Makiko.