Netflix is expanding its Japanese anime offerings with three new deals, including one for an animated version of its live-action science-fiction series, Altered Carbon, and another based on the video game Dragon’s Dogma.
The partnerships with Japanese animation studios Anima, Sublimation, and David Production add to two 2018 deals with Production I.G and bones, and will jointly create a total of six animated series for the streaming giant, it said in a release. The series to be created include Altered Carbon: Resleeved, Dragon’s Dogma, and SPRIGGAN.
The live-action Altered Carbon’s first season starred Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, House of Cards) and James Purefoy (The Following, Rome), but a core conceit of the show is that people’s memories and personality are stored in implants kept in the base of the neck of their current body, or “sleeve.” The wealthy or well-connected are able to replace one sleeve with another. and gain a whole new look. That has allowed show runners to mix and match stars and create a wildly diverse cast.
Kinnaman, who is white and Swedish, played an Asian character named Takeshi Kovacs (the original Kovacs is played in flashback scenes by Will Yun Lee), who left behind a string of murderously unhappy former business associates. In Season 2, Kovacs will be played by Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker, numerous Marvel Avengers films), who is African-American. Characters played by Renée Elise Goldsberry and Chris Conner appear in all 18 episodes of the first two seasons. The series was created by writer/producer Laeta Kalogridis, who also wrote recent feature Alita: Battle Angel, and was executive producer on Avatar and Shutter Island.
Netflix touted the production line deals with established anime houses as “one of the best ways to secure top craftsmen in the industry in every process of production.”
“Netflix aims to be the most compelling and attractive home for anime fans, creators and production studios,” said Netflix Director of Content (Japan), John Derderian. “We are creating an environment where production houses can do their best work, and deliver their shows on a service where we connect anime fans from over 190 countries to content they love.”
Anima’s Representative Director Shinya Sasahara said the deal “allows our creative team to focus on creating great content. We are proud to work on a well-known title like Altered Carbon as the first title from this partnership, and to have the opportunity to bring our creation to fans all over the world. Please look forward to anime unique to Anima.”
Dragon’s Dogma, from Sublimation, is an original series based on the video game of the same name. David Production will partner with Netflix to make Spriggan, which is based on a sci-fi manga (Japan’s version of graphic novels) of the same name by Hiroshi Takashige and illustrated by Ryoji Minagawa.
Netflix has been investing heavily in international film and TV as it turns its attention to the 191 countries beyond the United States where it also operates, and where most of its recent subscriber growth has occurred. It has made numerous deals for foreign-language content across Europe and Latin America, as well as India.
Netflix just debuted Cricket Fever, a documentary series from Condé Nast Entertainment Studios about the hugely popular Indian Premiere League cricket tournament, as just one part of its efforts to penetrate the potentially huge Indian market for streaming video. Japanese anime may not appeal to quite the same huge market, but its fans in Japan and beyond are ardent, helping make AT&T’s Crunchy Roll service one of the most popular of all niche subscription video-on-demand services.
Among previously announced Netflix anime projects, Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, from Production I.G, is scheduled to debut next year. It’s based on an iconic anime film, Ghost in the Shell, that was one of the first Japanese animated films to become a hit in the West.
WIT Studio is making Vampire in the Garden, about a friendship between a female vampire and a girl. Bones is producing Super Crooks, based on the comic book by Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu, who previously created Kick-Ass and Wanted together. Both comics series went on to become live-action films. In 2017, Netflix acquired Millar’s Millarworld comic publishing company for an undisclosed sum, reportedly as high as $1 billion, and has relied on it since as a source of new intellectual property and stories.
