A challenge to expand the possibilities of IP utilization! Animewik’s first TV anime original IP “Pon no Michi”

We asked manga artists to cooperate with part of the draft, and created an original version.IPAnimewik’s first original, born from a new attempt to createTVAnime “Pon no Michi”. The producer of this work talks about the new possibilities that come with being a publisher.

©IIS-P/Pon no Michi Production Committee

Benefits of speedy supervision, reducing the burden on manga artists, and creating original IP

“There are so many things I want to do, but my hands are full with the manuscript for the series, so I can’t really do it.”

I heard this story from a certain manga artist:2018It was around the year.However, I managed to take time out of my busy schedule to create a newIPCould you help me make it?Together with my fellow manga editors, I came up with the idea of ​​having the manga artists help with a part of the project, such as the “original draft,” and we would create the original work.IPIt was meant to produce. If the original already exists,IPThe process of using content, including supervision, often places a burden on advertisers and original authors. The idea was that if we could avoid this and complete the project within Animewik, we could create an environment that would benefit both parties.

When creating a work, I look for parts of my daily relationships that I feel I can ask of busy manga artists. I think this is a method of creating original IP that can only be achieved by a publisher that is close to manga artists through its daily work. The result of this idea was the anime “Pon no Michi,” which began airing on TV in January 2024. This work is the first of Animewik’s “original TV animation works”, and it was concluded that Negi Haruba, the original author of “The Quintessential Quintuplets” and “Sentai Dai Shikkaku,” was the most suitable for this work, and the characters I requested a draft proposal.

The original character design is by Negi Haruba, a popular manga artist.
It became a hot topic even before the anime aired.

Mr. Haruba was very busy, but he accepted the job because he was interested in character design work. I was in charge of all the design after the original draft, but when the first PV was announced, I remember being relieved when the teacher posted on social media that it was Haruba Negi’s drawing.

Creating works that pursue reality

The anime is set in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, and is a daily life anime in which the main characters sometimes play mahjong. The content of the work is “a miniature garden-style everyday animation with the addition of mahjong,” and there were no plans from the beginning to make the story focus on special abilities or winning or losing, and instead create an atmosphere of “just having fun doing something.” For this reason, we added mahjong to that “something”.

In Onomichi, which has become a “sacred place,” exhibits are displayed throughout the city.
Anime fans are visiting locations that appear in the works, taking photos, and posting them on SNS, and the amount of communication is increasing.

An actual fully automatic mahjong table also appears in the film with the cooperation of the manufacturer.

Since it is set in a real land, the popular app game “Jantama” (Yostar Co., Ltd.) and the fully automatic mahjong table that appears in the work are designed to make it even more realistic. We are grateful for the cooperation of Giken Co., Ltd. The reason why we chose Onomichi as the setting for the anime is that due to the nature of the work, we were looking for a place where the everyday scenery would look great in the anime, and the planning members said they wanted to recommend Onomichi, so we actually visited the location. , I decided to create a cityscape because I felt it would be easy to create a picture because it was close to the sea and mountains, and there were many elements that would stand out.
We explained to the local people while scouting locations, and they were warmly received. Furthermore, we are grateful to the shopping districts and city halls for their support by voluntarily putting up life-sized panels. We were even able to realize a plan to have the Mayor of Onomichi visit Animewik with Kaori Maeda, who plays the role of the main character, Nako.

Additionally, comic adaptation will begin even before it airs. First, serialization will begin in the girls’ magazine “Nakayoshi” from the October 2023 issue, and then in the youth magazine “Young Magazine” in conjunction with the anime broadcast. Once the anime aired, it was made into a comic in two media, which is a rare device. When we announced that it would be serialized in Nakayoshi in August last year, it aroused a lot of buzz with people asking, “Why a mahjong manga in a girls’ magazine?” and we received various interviews from various media companies even before it began airing.

Original TV anime “Pon no Michi” 2nd PV
YouTube｜From “Pon no Michi” original TV anime official channel

IP utilization including commercialization is also underway!

Although there are still aspects of this work that are still experimental, I feel that I am getting a solid response. By making it an original Animewik IP, we no longer have to “supervise” the manga artist, speeding up the development of live-action, animation, and merchandise, and above all, we are able to move forward in a way that reduces the burden on the manga artist. Masu.
Fortunately, there are currently talks about commercialization and collaboration with amusement facilities. We welcome inquiries regarding secondary use, so please feel free to contact us at any time! We are currently working on a project to release Animewik’s original IP works with the cooperation of other popular manga artists, so we hope you’ll look forward to further updates.

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Narrator of this article
Producer of TV anime “Pon no Michi”
Animewik Rights Media Business Headquarters Anime/Game Division
Kensuke Tateishi

TV anime “Pon no Michi” work details
[Broadcast information]
Broadcast starts from Friday, January 5, 2024!
MBS/TBS: Every Friday from 25:53 starting January 5th (Friday)
BS-TBS: Every Friday from 26:30 starting January 5th (Friday)
RCC: Every Tuesday from 25:55 from January 9th (Tuesday) *First time on January 9th (Tuesday) from 26:05
AT-X: Every Tuesday from 22:00 starting January 9th (Tuesday)
(Repeat broadcast: every Thursday from 10:00, every Monday from 16:00)

【staff】
Original work: IIS-P
Director/Screenplay: Tatsuma Minamikawa
Character draft: Negi Haruba
Character design: Kenji Ota
Color design: Emi Kadono
Art director: Scott MacDonald
Director of Photography: Masaru Amada
Editing: Yoshiaki Kimura
Sound director: Tsuyoshi Takahashi
Sound production: Bitgroove Promotion
Music: Yuko Takahashi, Takuma Sogi, hisakuni, Riko Ohashi, Hiroji Eguchi, Shari
Music production: SUPA LOVE
Production cooperation: Jantama, Taiyo Giken Co., Ltd.
Animation production: OLM

【cast】
Jukensha Nashiko: Kaori Maeda
Kawato pie: Iori Saeki
Izumi Tokutomi: Shion Wakayama
Rieche Hayashi: Yui Kondo
Jump Emi: Hibiki Yamamura
Chombo: Akio Otsuka

[Theme song information]
Opening theme: Kana Nakata feat. Pon no Michi All Stars “Ponpo Popon”
Ending theme: halca “Good Luck Waker”

Anime official websitehere
The official X (formerly: Twitter) account ishere