Danica Davidson
March 27, 2024 
Warner Bros. Discovery has been involved with the making of some anime series, like Record of Ragnarok and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, through their Japanese studio. So far they have more than 80 anime titles under their belt, and because they’re seeing plenty of success, Warner Bros. Discovery wants to up the amount of anime it makes.
James Gibbons, Warner Bros. Discovery president of Asia-Pacific, remarked, “We have a Japanese anime studio, which has been producing five or ten anime series per year, over the last few years. We’ve approved expansion to take that to more than ten series per year.”
He continued, “Anime is one of the best ways to reach the 18 to 30-year-old audience, which is incredibly elusive. Globally, albeit not in every market, but certainly in the U.S., parts of Europe and Latin America, we’ve got strong anime audiences.”
Some of their anime comes from franchises already existing in Japan. But Warner Bros. Discovery also has DC Comics as one of its brands, and this has led to interest in turning DC characters into anime. Case in point is the upcoming anime Suicide Squad ISEKAI, which was produced by Warner Bros. Japan and WIT Studio working together. It’s being directed by Osada Eri, who, among other things, was an episode director for parts of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime franchise.
Gibbons commented, “And we’ve looked at our DC universe and said, ‘Can we take these characters and reinvent them in world of world of anime,’ which is not straightforward because you have to do it the right way. You have to work with the right studios to make it happen and to build your fan base.”
Along with anime, Gibbons revealed Warner Bros. Discovery is interested in some Japanese scripted work, projects from China, and Korean drama.
Source: Variety
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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