Japanese Children’s Property Gakkimals Getting TV Treatment

SAN FRANCISCO: VIZ Media has acquired the rights to develop an original animated series based on the Japanese children’s brand Gakkimals, which features a mash-up of musical instruments and animals.

VIZ scored the production and licensing rights for the property. The series will be produced under license from ShoPro, a subsidiary of three of Japan’s largest publishing houses—Shogakukan, Shueisha and Hakusensha—that focuses on licensing and merchandising the properties owned by Shogakukan. Gakkimals is based on an original concept created by the Japanese production duo PecanNuts.

“The acquisition of Gakkimals represents an important step in our initiative to develop new and engaging global content in partnership with our creative partners in Japan,” said Brad Woods, the CMO of VIZ Media. “Gakkimals is a truly unique children’s property that combines the evergreen appeal of music and animals into a vibrant environment that inspires early childhood learning with a fun cast of endearing characters. We look forward to working closely with our partners at ShoPro to develop this exciting new show.”