New Dentsu Division Seeks Animation Alliances

SANTA MONICA, July 29: Japanese
advertising giant Dentsu has launched a new U.S. division, DCI Los Angeles, to
develop, co-produce and distribute original animated titles, kicking off with Deltora
Quest, currently airing on TV
Tokyo.

DCI-LA is seeking out
North American and European co-production partners to develop new series,
tapping into parent company Dentsu’s animation and investment resources.
DCI-LA’s strategy includes merging creative talent from North America and
Europe with Dentsu’s Japanese animation expertise to roll out shows with
international appeal. The primary focus will be on shows for kids 6 to 12 and
men 17 to 25.

Yuma Sakata, the senior VP
for DCI-LA, stated: "Although Japanese animation has achieved significant
global success, many productions we currently see in development do not have
broad appeal outside of Japan. Working with Western partners in preproduction,
and then production teams in Japan for animation, we can create content that
will appeal to a wider audience."

DCI-LA already has a
completed show to offer up in the form of Deltora Quest, based on the books of the same name and currently
airing on the TV Aichi block on TV Tokyo. DCI-LA is seeking broadcast partners
and licensees in all territories and categories. Deltora Quest is based on the book series penned by Australian
writer Emily Rodda and published by Scholastic. It has been published in more
than 30 countries and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. The
animated series is produced by OLM with investment support from Dentsu. Japanese
licensing partners include Kodansha for manga, Bandai for card games, PVC
figures and candy items and Bandai-Namco for interactive games, all via Dentsu,
which directly controls all rights to the series worldwide, and handles
licensing, merchandising, television, home entertainment and all forms of
digital distribution in Asia.

DCI-LA is led by Yuma
Sakata, with the core management team rounded out by Marc Harrington as the VP
of business development, Yukio Kusumoto as the group director and Yulie Yoshimura
as the associate licensing manager.

—By Mansha Daswani