Nippon TV, Japan’s leading multiplatform entertainment powerhouse and ratings champion broadcaster and owner of Hulu Japan, has giving a new innovation step in the global business. Led by Kako Kuwahara, EVP of Business Development, it has launched a brand-new Anime Department in response to the growing global demand for this Japanese flagship genre.
‘This business unit combines the team that produces anime for Japanese viewers with the business team that delivers anime to the international market. Young international generations are looking up to anime heroes. We aim to strengthen our production, create new worldwide hits, enhance our global distribution and, ultimately, reach as many anime fans as possible for generations’, underlines Kuwahara.
Shebelieves there is nothing more important than selecting themes that will be easily received by fans around the world: ‘Globally, adventure fantasy anime that depict allies joining forces to fight against evil tend to be well received and have increased their fan base so much so that their popularity is now deeply rooted. Japanese anime also does not rely only on computer graphics, and I believe this is another reason why they are loved throughout the world’.
Nippon TV has the global audience in mind right from the start, while it allocates greater resources into anime. The first three international projects announced and slated for this month are, first, the anime based on the award-winning novel Tsukimichi-Moonlit Fantasy- (12x’30) in partnership with Mainichi Broadcasting System: based on the award-winning novel and manga with the same title from Kei Azumi, it shows Makoto Misumi who is just an ordinary high school student living a regular life, but all of a sudden gets summoned to the other world to become a “hero”; second, Edenszero, with Kodansha; and third The Princess of Snow and Blood, with Tatsunoko.
‘Going forward, we will be working with various companies that specialize in different fields’, comments Kuwahara, who adds: ‘Anime studios Madhouse and Tatsunoko Production are our sister companies. We will be working with them, but the process of determining a partner needs to be done on a content-by-content basis’.
And she concludes: ‘Half of Netflix viewers watch anime, we hear. The smash hit Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has fanned the flames of Japanese anime popularity even more. Compared to 10 years ago, Japanese anime has become more readily available and enjoyable for a wider demographic. Creating hit anime titles plays a significant role in sharing Japanese culture with the world. We want to create anime that will be loved the world over for 10, 20, or even 50 years’.
The executive concludes: ‘Before deciding on producing a title, we always seek the advice of our international partners. Choosing titles that will have longevity is another objective that is crucial for us. It is necessary to have simultaneous global releases so we plan to arrange schedules that enable subtitled and voiceover versions to be rolled out at the same time. At times, we will also be inviting our partners from around the world to invest in projects at the early stages of the process’.
