Warner Bros. Discovery has given Warner Bros. Japan the green light to specifically increase the number of anime series it produces per year.
Speaking to Variety, WBD’s president for Asia-Pacific, James Gibbons, said the company’s animation studio would increase its annual production to more than ten series. Previously, the unit produced between five and ten series per year.
Since opening in 2011, Warner Bros. Japan has produced more than titles for successful franchises such as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, RWBY, Tom and Jerry, and DC Universe.
Although it has its own streaming platform, Warner Bros. Discovery sells its anime productions to other broadcasters and streamers.
According to Gibbons, the good fortune of the Japanese studio’s series on third-party platforms has paved the way for an audience that Warner Bros. He had fought in the past to conquer:
As we see the appeal of the category, we are expanding it. Anime is one of the most productive tactics to succeed among audiences between the ages of 18 and 30, which is incredibly elusive. Globally, although not in all markets, it is in the United States. In the United States, parts of Europe, and Latin America, we have a strong anime audience.
Gibbons said Warner Bros. ve its DC catalog as fertile ground for adaptations, but the company wants to be careful about combining Western IPs and Japanese animation. He told Variety:
We looked at our DC Universe and said, “Can we take those characters and reinvent them in the world of anime?” which isn’t simple because you have to do it the right way. You have to work with the right studios for this and grow your fan base.
Warner Bros. Japan is lately working with WIT Studio (Attack on Titan and Spy x Family) on the Suicide Squad ISEKAI series, which is scheduled for Japan in July and the rest of the world later this year.
The unit also recently revealed that production is underway on Fist of the North Star: Hokuto no Ken, a new serial adaptation of the popular manga created by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. The original manga Fist of the North Star debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. in 1983 and ran for five years, selling more than 100 million copies. Toei Animation produced the first anime series adaptation of Fist of the North Star, which ran from 1984 to 1988. The franchise has added several animated films, one live-action film, video games, OVA, and several spin-offs in the years since.
Pictured above: ISEKAI Suicide Squad
Jamie Lang is the editor-in-chief of Cartoon Brew.
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