The two companies are also planning to collaboratively release merchandise and toys.
Popular Japanese merchandise and collectible producer company Bandai Co. Ltd. is partnering with anime production company Twin Engine for new projects. Although no details have been revealed, it’s been announced that the collaborative projects will include anime, manga, as well as merchandise and toys.
What does the partnership between Bandai and Twin Engine entail?
As per the report by Twin Engine, the two companies have entered a strategic partnership to co-develop a new intellectual property which will include an original manga, its animation, and eventually licensed products such as merchandise and toys.
Twin Engine will be handling the planning, production, advertising, and distribution for the manga and anime portion, while Bandai will handle planning, product development, marketing, and licensing the products. Overall, the two companies will work together to maximise the worth of the new IP as a whole. However, we don’t know which creative minds will be working on the manga and anime, or what they will even be about, yet.
Twin Engine and Bandai both aim to make a collective initial investment of up to JP¥ 4 billion (about US$25.35 million). More details about the new projects will be revealed soon.
Twin Engine is an anime production company which was established in 2014 by Representative director Kōji Yamamoto. Some of the company’s most successful anime projects include Vinland Saga, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, Witch Hat Atelier, and Netflix’s Cosmic Princess Kaguya! The company is also working on Netflix’s next anime movie project The Ribbon Hero.
Bandai Co. Ltd. is Japan’s leading toy manufacturer and distributor.