Popular comedy anime series set to premiere on Disney XD in the United States this Summer.
Japanese magazine & comic book distributor Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd. (ShoPro) has announced that the North American manga & anime licensor Viz Media is given the rights to the merchandise of the highly-popular comedy anime DORAEMON in North and Latin Americas.
The licensor will be the “master merchandise licensee”, which will oversee the license and development over a range of new products under the name of Doraemon in all categories.
ShoPro and Viz Media will be introducing Doraemon at the upcoming event Licensing Expo, happening on June 17-19 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Doraemon is one of the most popular icons from Japan, which started as a manga created by renowned artist Fujiko F. Fujio in 1969. It was adapted to anime in 1973, 1979, and 2005, as well as feature films & video games.
It was given awards like Japan Cartoonist Association Award for excellence (1973), the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children’s manga (1982), and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award (1997). He was designated as the first “anime ambassador” by Japan Foreign Ministry in 2008.
The anime is set to premiere on Disney XD in the United States during the summer season, but will primarily target the younger elementary school students.
Previous reports also states that the story, names, and “gadgets” will be edited to fit the American audiences.
In the Philippines, Doraemon first premiered on terrestrial network GMA Channel 07 in December 1999, and is dubbed in Filipino.
The anime is considered as one of the country’s popular anime titles together with Yu Yu Hakusho (better known as Ghost Fighter), Slam Dunk, Flame of Recca, Zenki, and Naruto.
SOURCE: Viz Media
