Warner Bros. Discovery has revealed its ambitious intention to produce more than 10 anime series a year through its existing local Japanese studio. According to Variety, James Gibbons, President of Asia-Pacific for Warner Bros. Discovery, discussed the expansion. “We have a Japanese anime studio that has been producing between five and ten anime series per year for the past few years. We have approved the expansion to bring that to more than ten series per year“, he claimed.
Warner Bros. anime studio Discovery took off in 2011, delivering more than 80 titles so far, including high-quality anime, live-action series and movies. “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure“, serialized in a manga magazine starting in 1987, received an animated series adaptation that was released in 2012. The series “Record of Ragnarök” and the anime movie “batman ninja” are other notable titles.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s attempt to expand production is motivated by the notable growth and global success of anime as a medium in recent years. “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” and “Record of Ragnarök” are having a lot of success on Netflix, appearing in the streaming service’s global weekly Top 10. “We have sold them to third parties. That has been one of the metrics. And they are working very well“Gibbons said. “And therefore, because we see the appeal of the category, we are expanding it. Anime is one of the best ways to reach the incredibly elusive 18-30 year old audience. Globally, although not in all markets, but certainly in the United States, parts of Europe and Latin America, we have strong anime audiences“he added.
Gibbons continued, “There are Japanese anime that come from original intellectual properties. But there are also anime that come from other places. And we’ve looked at our DC universe and said, ‘Can we take these characters and reinvent them in the anime world,’ which is not easy because you have to do it the right way. You have to work with the right studios to make it happen and build your fan base“.
Fountain: Variety
