Toei Animation and VIZ Media to talk the significance of anime in modern licensing at BLE 2018 next month

Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z may be the names that commonly leap to mind at its mention, but thanks to the emergence of platforms like Crunchyroll and the library of content in places like Netflix, anime is a fast growing source for the licensing industry.

Such is the sector’s growth, Toei Animation Europe and VIZ Media Europe have detailed an exclusive panel presentation dedicated to this very topic at this year’s Brand Licensing Europe.

Taking place on October 9th at 4.30pm in the Licensing Academy Room, the Anime Pops Into the Tops presentation will show how anime licenses generate high interest and settle down as sustainable brands in a crowded market.

For the first time, the two companies will present a case study on the influence of Anime Entertainment content in the licensing market and the anchorage of the trend into pop culture across the generations.

Anime’s evolution from an exclusively Japanese category to an EMEA sensation remains one of the most fascinating case studies in modern branding history. The advent of platforms that finally gave Western audiences legally obtained access to the hundreds of anime properties making their way from the East blew open an entirely new market not only for animation but anime licensing, too.

Toei Animation is famed for introducing the worlds of Dragon Ball, One Piece, Sailor Moon and Saint Seiya to Western audiences. These properties are considered landmark programmes in the space that continue to be developed each year.

Meanwhile, VIZ MEdia is celebrated for its long list of prominent brand including Doraemon, Captain Tsubasa, Yo-Kai Watch, My Hero Academia and One Punch Man.

“We are delighted to join our longtime partner, VIZ MEdia Europe, in having this important discussion with Brand Licensing Europe attendees, said Ryuji Kochi, president of Toei Animation Europe.

“From niche to mass market, Anime content is now taking over all the headlines becoming a stronghold in the licensing industry,” added Kazuyoshi Takeuchi, president of VIZ Media Europe. “It is with great pleasure that we are joining forces with our close collaborator and longtime partner to cross-highlight the power of anime content in our industry today.”

The two companies are also coming to this year’s BLE with new, key corporate developments that sees Toei’s Dragon Ball Super pick up new broadcasters in Eastern Europe, including Greece (Nickelodeon), Poland (TV4, TV6, Polsat Games), Hungary (Viasat 6) and Romania (AXN Black).

Meanwhile, One Piece is looking to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2019 with unique licensing deals already in place with the likes of Skechers and a massive adventure video game called One Piece World Seeker from Bandai Namco.

At the same time, VIZ Media Europe is launching a Captain Tsubasa reboot, reimagingin the most popular anime franchise of the 80s. SOme of the biggest TV channels in Europe have already signed on to air the series in 2019.