A Brief History of French Animation

France is an interesting country for many reasons but in regards to the one thing we care about: manga and anime it is a particularly a noteworthy nation. Part of this is because of the status animation has held in France historically. France was one the pioneering nations in the through the works of Emile Reynaud, Emile Cohl and others. These figures alongside others like Blackton where pivotal to the development of forms of animation in the late 19th and early 20th century. Working in animation back in those early days involved not only drawing but inventing and crafting new devices and methods to project images in a sequence to mimic motion to the audience in a way that had not been done before. 

At the beginning of 20th century, animation was developed used in short films and in adverts. Emile Reynaud and Emile Cohl who were pioneer of animation at the time, were both driven by their passion and artistic desire, which meant their works were often experimental. This caused them to not really find commercial success, and besides there was not enough money to be made in the industry at this infant stage. Consequently, whilst Emile Reynaud and Emile Cohl are acknowledged as pioneers of animation, the financial return from their works were meagre and in the end, both died in poverty. 

Their legacy was not forgotten but they did not help themselves in regards to that, Reynaud actually threw most of his works in the Seine river which meant many did not survive. However, their methods and inventions were formed the basis for the development of new animation techniques both in France and in the United States. The United States emerges in this period through its own pioneering animators but they were helped by Cohl, who moved to the United States in 1910s to work with Eclair a French studio there. In there, he would produce a series title The Newlyweds that would be the first animated product to be called an animated cartoon. 

© Eclair New York The Newlyweds

Cohl's animation techiniques were built upon and animation in the United States became increasingly commercialized in a way that it did not in France. First, animation studios became bigger and whilst it began with adaptation of strips, they soon developed their own characters.  French's animation continued to hold a distinct production style that involved small niche studios that produced animation mostly in the form of adverts and short films as an artistic endeavor. Animation as an art continued to hold sway in France, animation techniques did develop and the introduction of sound added many new elements for animators to put into their animated products. However, the small studios structure in France still lived off adverts as even short animated films often were often costly to create, so whilst iconic animation projects in France emerged in this period like The Little Solder, Blue Beard and The Tale of The Fox most did not result in much profit for their creators. 

The Little Soldier directed by Grimault

In the 1950s, Disney continued to grow into a powerhouse when it came to commercial animation . , American cartoons expanded around the world supported by the postwar economic boom with Disney at the forefront. In France, animation was at crossroads, in this period of uncertainty and from this period a few figures stood out within France's animation industry. One such figure was Grimault that had founded his own studio in the 30s and in his leadership they produced many animated works through the 40s and 50s onwards. However, many of those works were still mostly shorts which did not provide much return on investment. When it came to full feature length films, the cost was major problem but Grimault managed to produce one of the most iconic works in french animation The King and the Mockingbird. The production of the film was riddled with issues, it became such an issue that even thought Grimault and his studio Les Gemeaux started working on it in 1948, it was shown unfinished in 1952 against Grimault's wishes. This led to a break down in the relationship between the studio and its producers that ultimately caused Les Gemeaux to go under in 1958. 

The imbroglio between the Grimault and the producers was only resolved years after, and then Grimault, who had significantly reduced his role in animation was finally able to remake and finish the film and release it in 1980. The King and The Mocking bird immediately become a classic of French animation not only due to its satirical and highly fantastical story telling but also its animation. It would come to influence many animators but whilst it has achieved a classic status, it was not a big commercial success. However, it did become a crowning piece in Grimault's large portfolio of animated works. 

In the period of Les Gemeux prominence in French animation, the same old question the industry faced still remained. It continued to struggle between a pursuit of an artistic endeavor and the reluctance to draw much influence from hugely commercialized American cartoons. One reason for this was that French animation continued to be focused on short films with the occasional feature film that gave space for more experimental works. It did mean that the largest amount of animation produced from the 50s onwards were television cartoons largely from the United States. Part of this reluctance to be drawn by the United States was expressed by Grimault and other animators belief that France should stay true to its own style of animation instead of drawing too much of the style prominent in the United States, specifically Disney's style that felt uninspiring to them. 

Others animators emerged after the period of Grimault's studio preminence, like Laguione and Laloux that navigated in the animation industry through the 70s and 80s, which was in many ways a period of great animated works in large parts due to the works of the two men. First off Laguione was inspired by Grimault and amongst other french animators, he in particular stood out for his subtle story telling in his short films , most notably The Lady and The Cellist and Rowing Across the Atlantic, both would be awarded in the film festivals that were becoming more prominent across the globe. 

It was only in the 80s that Laguione would release his first feature film Gwen, or The Book of Sand in 1985. Gwen was an epic science fantasy tale that not only stood out for its animation but also because of its storytelling that relied significantly on visual cues. Critics praised the film and it won awards but it found limited commercial success. 

Gwen, or The Book of Sand 

Rene Laloux story is quite similar to Laguione,  he started off his career with short animated films as well.  However, his career dated at least to the 50s which was at least 10 or so years before Laguione.  This earlier debut allowed him to actually have experience of working with Grimault's and his studio with in the 50s in many short animated pieces. One of those short animated pieces was Monkey's Teeth, which Laloux based on the pictures drawn by the people in the psychiatric warden he worked in at the time. It was a rather peculiar project, but this highly experimental style would become a known trait for Laloux works. Fantastic Planet his first and most well known feature film done alongside a czech studio is a science fantasy works but with a setting and story telling that is imbued with allegories and psychedelic elements. 

Both Laloux and Laguione provided excellent animated works in the 60s, 70s and 80s, both also tried to shift to create animated works that could be commercially successful. However, they still tried their utmost to avoid many commercial animation cliches, many of which came from what they would call Disney 'Demagoguery.' In a sense, they tried to bring out animated works in France from outside the arthouses but at the time still trying to define their own style against the major international competition and conventions. 

The animation industry seemed capable of releasing critically acclaimed works that found mild commercial success. However, international competition only grew stiffer with the introduction of cheap Japanese animation and the continued presence of American cartoons within the midst of it all. Japanese animation emerged in the international market with adaptations of western works like Moomin, Heldi in the Alps and many others during the 70s and 80s. This stiffer competition in the animated market and the prominence of feature American films in the international market heightened a sense of fear in France and Europe of Americanization threatening their culture. France in particular that has always been protective of its culture had to think of ways to protect its creative industries.

One of the solutions to the issue was a European wide plan was policies to protect national cultural industry. In France, this was had a direct effect on the growing animation within the country from the 90s onwards when the policies first emerged.  A prominent animator that would emerge in this period was Michel Ocelot, who would release the popular and critically acclaimed Kirikou and the Sorceress.

During this period many other critically acclaimed films like The Triples of Belleville, Rain Children, Raining Cats and Frogs. These films whilst their revenue was measly when compared to American titles, due to lower costs less revenue was needed for them to be profitable. This trend has continued and animation production has increased in France to the level that it has become the third biggest producer of animated feature films closing in on Japan and the United States. When it comes to animation in total Japan is ahead by a large margin due to its television animated series, but like in most cases production does not take into account the large amount of outsourcing involved in animation that has meant South Korea for instance is the largest supplier of animation in the world. 

The Triplets of Belleville

This growth of French animation not only came from the policies of protection but also investment in its creative industries, which included animation. It also originates from the continued tradition in France that was formed in the early 20th century that its animation has to have its own identity. All these elements with the talented animators like Laguione, Ocelot, Chonet and others that continue to pump out unique animated works helped France to become the standout country for the animation industry within Europe. Television animated series still do not have the sort of identity that feature films have in France, but they have come to produce many works as well, and streaming services like Netflix also expanded options for studios in France which have resulted in shows like Arcane.

Small Thoughts on Recent New Series

'Mamori Kyoudai no Sahanji' was the first series to start, and I was upbeat about its chance for success going by its popularity in Champion Cross. My thoughts on the series continue to be mostly positive, it is a light comedy series with a range of characters that give it some diversity. The characters and their interaction are not enough hold my attention which is why I stopped reading. It is not a bad series but it does not seem to be as popular as I previously expected and I reckon this will eventually leave the magazine and continue on Champion Cross.  

The second 'Davre no Oukan' series has already ended but it was not a bad series in my eyes. Artwise it was probably the most polished of the round, but it was likely the blandest. The series itself was a comedy action series. Its main problem ended up being how it failed to leave any impression. This was a result for me largely because it was too much of a mixture of comedy and action and it did not fully commit to either side. There have been comedy action series but they have prioritised one genre over the other. Perhaps with a more interesting setting and a clearer idea of what to focus on this mangaka can find success be it in Champion or elsewhere.  

The third series was 'Kimi wa Yotsuba no Clover by Koushi' and the most successful recent series. It has received a TV recommendation and it has received lead colour pages to promote volumer releases. The success of the series stems from its interesting setting even if not innovative. It has a twist that whilst not necessarily unpredictable adds a sense of mystery to the series and builds up the main female character intentions. The level of popularity of this series might motivate editors to look for series with intriguing setting like it, which might inspire the magazine to a new direction.  

The last series is Mogaku by Gumi and Maru was the one I favoured the most. The reason for my favour was that it resembled a nostalgic type of sports manga that had protagonist that were not talented but worked really hard to compete with others. The story likes to use emotional beats especially backstories to not only acts as extra motivation for their career in racing but builds up their character. It blends these emotional moments with sketchy art racing sequences that are feel intense. However, the series has not found a significant level of popularity. Perhaps, the series needs to balance those moments with the character interaction that break up the intense pace. More interaction between characters, especially since many have their own motivation for racing can engage readers into the actual story outside of the intense racing. 

The Origin of the Popularity of Manga in France

When the anime adaptation of Radiant was announced it was quite a novel and perhaps surprising piece of news for many anime fans. It was not the first time a French work was adapted into anime, French and many foreign works were animated by Japanese studios in the 70s and 80s. However, it was the first time for a manfra. 

Manfra is the term used to refer to French comics inspired by Japanese manga and there are many of them published in France alongside the vast amount of translated Japanese manga series that are released in the country.  Manga sales in France have been in steadily growing since the start of the century. but what is the reason for this? I will explore this in this second video of a series about comics and animation from France. 

Bravest Journey, A French comic heavily influenced by Japanese manga style

One of the reasons manga could find such a fertile ground for fans was because comics have had a deep history in France. Part of this history was how comics were accepted as a form of storytelling that not only had popular cultural value but also value as a piece of literature. In order to see how this happened we have to start with the rise of bande dessinees or comics in France and Belgium.

Bande dessinees popularity in France was like a wave with its up and downs through the 20th century. However, it gradually managed to make a lasting impression in the French imagination and successfully become a cultural element that was worth protection by the authorities. Support for the industry coming in the 80s helped the industry that had been on a high but was on a period of transition, to stabilize in the short term and thrive in the long term. The acceptance of comics by the French did make it prime market for the series coming from Japan and the spread of anime in France was the initial seed for the emergence of a thriving manga market. 

France is not stranger to animation, in fact notable Frenchmen were pioneers in the art form of animation. However,  what Japan grew to thrive from the 70s onwards was a sort of animation that was not that represented inside France. TV animated series of various series based on western works started to be animated by Japan producers and shown back in France, and since these shows were relatively cheap and well done it meant local alternatives struggled to compete.  

Amongst such series in the late 70s and early 80s were Albator, Tom Sawyer, Cobra and many others. Spearheading the spread of these series was the programing aimed children like Recre A2. Recre A2 was a weekly show that aired on Wednesday and it featured sketches in-between episodes of animated series or seitai series. More shows like it would emerge later on but the most popular and notable was Club Dorothee named after the presenter of the show. Club Dorothee that from the late 80s brought to French television many popular Japanese shows like Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon and many more. 

The popularity of the anime series did not go unnoticed and a window of opportunity emerged in France for publishers of Bande Dessinees (French comics) but also other publishers to focus solely on manga to emerge. These publishers brought from Japan many titles and France soon stood out as a market for manga in Europe . At this time in the 90s, 2000s the Italian market was the biggest market when it came to the sheer number of Japanese titles licensed there. France was close behind, but what within the timeframe from late 2000s to now France overtook Italy and created a massive gap and firmly established itself as the biggest market for manga in Europe. 

The rise of France as comics market was driven by its cultural acceptance of comics as a respectful form of storytelling. it is referred to the ninth art. In recent times, comics have continued to grow in France, with manga being a great driver reason for that growth. It seems the generation that grew with anime in the 80s and 90s in French TV was cultivated back into anime fandom in the current animation boom. Naturally, the original work of many anime are manga series that see them turned into anime, but it seems increasingly French readers get into the manga before the anime. 

Manga sales have since the 2000s spiked in France, the increasing sales numbers have led to publishers expanding their portfolio of licensed works. The sale number have have become quite impressive even in comparison to sales in Japan in regards to some series. A natural result of the sales numbers has been publishers in France looking for authors be them Japanese or not, to draw series that they feel will be popular in France. In a quite interesting turn of events, some of those series gathered enough popularity in France to draw attention of publishers in Japan. So these series influenced by manga are published in France, but Japanese publishers pick them to publish them back in Japan. Some of notable series that made that journey are Lost Children and Outsiders and others. 

Status of The New Champion Series

It has been a few weeks since the series begun and all of them had a few chapters published in Champion Cross. 

I will analyse theirs number in Champion Cross and give some of my thoughts on the series so far. , but at the moment of writing these are the numbers and it might suggests which series will survive in the long term. Overall, I imagine all series will receive a promo in Champion Cross for volume releases which could help some to break out. 

Champion Cross - The future of Champion

Champion Cross is the new digital manga publication website of Akita Shoten that replaces Manga Cross. It is not only a replacement however, it is acts as a comprehensive digital platform that looks more like a version of Piccoma for Akita Shoten series. It demonstrates an ambitious and calculated action by Akita Shoten to expand its digital efforts. 

What is Piccoma?

Piccoma is a digital platform that has found massive success in Japan, especially due to Korean series. The platform acts as digital storefront with many offerings from Japanese series to Korean ones. However, its main success originates from its monetisation system. In the Piccoma system, chapters are published weekly but whilst people can read the first three or so chapter for free, after that there is a limit on chapters that can be read for free. However, the limit can be bypassed by waiting, if you can not wait, then you can simply pay. It is referred to the free if you wait monetisation model. It is a simple monetisation method but one that had proven successful in Korea where Kakao the organisation behind Piccoma made large profits  (Yecies and Shim, 2021).

The main benefits of the free if you wait monetisation model is that lowers the barrier for reading for people that are unsure if they want to pay and it gives the option to wait to continue reading. By giving the chance for people to read for free, readers can free trial a series and if they eventually are hooked and can not wait to read the next development they are likely to pay. It does mean that every user is not equal, because it allows for whaling as some people are likely to spend a lot if they have the disposable income to avoid waiting to read. On the other hand, some without the same amount of money to spend might wait and read the same chapters someone else paid to read for free. 

Champion Cross uses the same free if you wait monetisation model and the fact you can technically read everything for free is one of the main slogan used to promote the platform. To make it easier lets compare it to Manga Cross, in MC every series had its first three chapters available to read for free as well as the latest three or so chapters. The chapters in between the first few and the latest released chapters were not available to read on the website. Hence, a series like The Dangers in My Heart with over 100 chapters published had only six chapters available to read on the platform whilst the chapters in-between that a lot of chapters were inaccessible. Any new users that were interested in reading the series on the website would find that they could not read it there, instead they had to turn to the collected volumes either digitally or physical to continue reading. Moving users from MC to a platform to purchase a volume only serves to reduce the potential of that users making a purchase as they are likely to not bother doing it later. So as a result many potential people that would continue reading if those chapters were available read the free chapters but left it at that. 

In Champion Cross this issue was addressed by turning to a Piccoma inspired system. The first few chapters are free to read with the others being also free if you wait a day, if not you can use a ticket or pay for it. Immediately it addresses the question of middle chapters in Manga Cross that effectively forced people to turn to volumes, now they can stay in Champion Cross and read the whole series 'for free.' It takes away the likely failed incentive for users to buy volumes, and it monetises the series to create a new revenue stream for the digital platform. The potential revenue from the free if you wait system is likely to outweigh the amount from volume sales in the long run anyway, so even if it costs volume sales in the short term it is likely not going to impact the financials of the company substantially. 

What are these tickets that I keep mentioning? They are tickets that allow you to skip the wait, and they are not for sale but they can be earned through missions. Missions are like actions that if you complete, you gain a ticket, and they can include reading a chapter everyday, reading a series and leaving a like. It works as a interesting loop where people engaging with series in the platform are rewarded for continuing to do so. 

Missions

Another interesting feature that work to drive engagement is a daily gacha where a ticket can be gained, and two if you share it on X. It works to add an element of gamifying that platform, and these game like features are not by chance, they have a proven track record in marketing research for driving up engagement(itrián and Catalán, 2021). In engaging with the platform and reading titles, inevitably despite users being able to read for free, research on monetisation systems on users waiting does suggest many will spend to forego waiting (Raman and Leyton-Brown, 2024).

The daily gacha

Of course to engage users, it has to first have users. So what does it do to make join the platform? A newly registered users receives 10 tickets of the get go, and they can gain more tickets through completing tutorial missions that introduce them to the system and rewarded them for liking and sharing series. So, if a new users is hooked on as series they like with the tickets available to them they can read quite a few chapters. However, after they are hooked they are likely to fall into the gacha and mission loop and continue to engage with the platform. So the tutorial and initial user awards work alongside the mission system alongside the tickets to get people engaging with the platform with the ultimate goal of leading users to spending. It seems promising, and I believe it will be successful. 

Image taken from tutorial page that explains how the site works

So lets move on to the lineup since if the series are not good the readers will not bother. 

The main change of Champion Cross from Manga Cross is that it is no longer simply a digital platform for publishing series. It now includes all series currently published by Akita Shoten as well as some older titles. I had in a previous post mentioned the need for more resources and more series to be available in the digital platform and this is the best answer possible. Instead of pushing out a whole bunch of new series in a revamp, Akita Shoten made the best move possible which was to add series from many of its magazines as well as completed titles. So Manga Cross that had one or two series per day, now as Champion Cross has many series releasing new chapters everyday. In addition, there are many completed titles that can be fully read like the Baki prequels, Shuujin Riku, Beastars, Bachi Bachi and many others. It now has a lot to offer and many series for people to check out that makes it alongside all the features does make me confident that this is inevitably going to replace the manga magazines as it starts to bring more profits and the magazines less. 

You might have noticed that I did not say series from all their magazines and that is because series from Young Champion did not come to Champion Cross. It went instead to a platform that is exactly the same as Champion Cross but is called Young Champion Web. It is a peculiar move but is likely driven by the sexual nature of the content of most of the Young Champion series. Some Young Champion series that are more palpable for all ages are in Champion Cross, so I definitely believe that the adult content was the reason behind the split. 

There are other questions over the platform that I hope to explore in other posts. If you have any suggestions of things to talk about place them down in the comments down below

Reference - 

Bitrián, P., Buil, I. and Catalán, S., 2021. Enhancing user engagement: The role of gamification in mobile apps. Journal of Business Research, 132, pp.170-185.

Lundy, T., Raman, N., Fu, H. and Leyton-Brown, K., 2024, "Pay to (Not) Play: Monetizing Impatience in Mobile Games." Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence 38(9), pp.9856-9864.

Yecies, B. and Shim, A.G., 2021. South Korea's webtooniverse and the digital comic revolution. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Saint Seiya Next Dimension Ends after 18 years. New Heaven Arc Series Expected?

Anime and new series can be expected? 

Kurumada is finally finishing 'Saint Seiya Next Dimension' that began back in 2006 when the series first begun in Weekly Shonen Champion. After 18 years and 118 chapters, the sequel to the classic shonen series from the 80s will end. Lets go over its journey to Champion from Jump and a few interesting tidbits.

The original series 'Saint Seiya' was not published in Weekly Shonen Champion, it was instead serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1985 to 1990. It was not Kurumada's first work, he was a known property for his previous work 'Ring ni Kakero'  at the time but it eventually became his most known work.

 The series itself is focused on knights (saints) that receives armors (called cloths) and that represent all sorts of constellation. The main cast are all bronze knights that fight for Athena, with Seiya the titular character having the Pegasus cloth. The first arc usually called the Galaxian Wars arc sets up the main cast and introduces the main tenets of the series. However, what everyone might know about the series likely comes from the second main arc the Sanctuary arc that was focuses on the Bronze knights having to overcome the Gold knights, that each represent a sign of the zodiac, within quite a limited timeframe. Considering that the Gold knights are supposed to be the strongest knights of Athena, you can see the challenge of the task and the stakes are high as well. 

The original anime series that aired through the late 80s, after the Sanctuary arc added an Asgard anime only arc then it covered the Poseidon arc, but it did not cover the Hades arc that wrapped up the original series. The Hades arc was later animated in the 2000s in a new anime series that finally saw that the entire original Saint Seiya series was completely animated. Later arcs did not seem to reach the same status as the Sanctuary arc which was so iconic that many casual fans believe it to be the end of the series.

The anime adaptation of the series made its way around the globe especially with dubbed versions. In my home country it was a popular show in the 90s and it is one of the few anime that my parents can recognise. It established strong multimedia presence especially internationally in Spanish speaking areas and in China as well that has meant that despite times of sparse animation projects, it has continued receiving games, figurines and other merchandise products.

After the original anime from the 80s and the manga series ended, the series entered a period of slumber in terms of new content. The slumber came to an end in the 2002 with the start of the anime series covering the Hades Arc, and the start of an all new manga series called 'Saint Seiya Episode G' however this time Kuramada was only overseeing it, handling the series was Megumu Okada in the magazine Champion Red. The series was a spin off series that acted as a prequel to the original series that focused on the gold knights. It was the first time Saint Seiya as a series was published in a magazine other than Jump and by a publisher other than Shueisha. The main driver behind the new series was Sawa the head editor in charge of the creation of Champion Red in 2002 that was familiar with Kurumada, who still had many ideas for Saint Seiya and was convinced to launch a spin off series in the magazine as one of the series for its starting lineup. 

Sawa eventually became the head editor of Weekly Shonen Champion in 2005 and not long after he took over the magazine together with Kurumada a sequel of the original Saint Seiya manga that had ended in 1990 that as we know is 'Saint Seiya Next Dimension Meio Shinwa' was launched. The series act as continuation of the Hades arc that ended in a cliffhanger per say. However, soon after its debut the series became a irregular series that was published chapters in batches that were referred as seasons. With the latest season, the manga officially ends with chapter 118 in a few days. 

118 chapters in 18 years is quite a slow pace, however this is likely due to Kuramada's other projects and many spin offs  that he at the very least act as overseer as the author of the original work. This include the continuation of 'Saint Seiya Episode G' that is currently on its second sequel with the title 'Saint Seiya Episode G Requiem'. Another series notable spin off series was 'Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas' that ran in Weekly Shonen Champion from 2006 to 2011. Shiori Teshirogi drew the series, and it was the only spin off series to be animated until' Saint Seiya Santia Sho' by Chimaki Kuori was in 2018. 

Two other spin offs started in recent years one is Saint Seiya Dark Wing by Kenji Sato and Shinshu Ueda that explores the isekai trend using Saint Seiya. The other is Rerise of Poseidon by Suda Tsunagami which mimics closely Kuramada artstyle, both are interesting projects for fans of the series. 

Champion spin offs of Saint Seiya

Saint Seiya Episode G Saga - 2002 - ongoing

Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas - 2006 - 2011

Saint Seiya Santia Sho - 2013 - 2021

Saint Seiya Dark Wing - 2020 - ongoing

Saint Seiya Rerise of Poseidon - 2022 - ongoing

Does the end of Saint Seiya Next Dimension spell the end of the series? 

The end of the Saint Seiya Next Dimension was expected so there was no surprise that this was the last season, but with the end many news are expected as anticipated by comments from Kuramada earlier in the year in a comment in Champion Red. It is his 50th anniversary as a manga author after all, so I do not believe anticipating announcements from his biggest ongoing project is too much . One such announcement is likely to be a new featuring the Heaven arc that involves the Gods in the Olympus against Athena. Notably the preview of the issue whilst it does say Saint Seiya Next Dimensino will be in the cover for its last chapter does not state anything about announcements, but we can only wait and see.  

Many rumours and insiders in the Saint Seiya community expect an announcement of an animation for Next Dimension to happen as well not necessarily in the upcoming issue but by the end of the year, and it would make a lot of sense alongside the release of a final edition which is marketed as the best edition with revision on cloth designs and text by Kuramada himself and to my knowledge it is the first time the original series was published by Akita Shoten. For potential new fans it is readily available for readers to read back to prepare for the animation of the direct sequel. 

An animation for Next Dimension by Toei has always been a question. It should not be forgotten that the series is a multimedia success that is featured prominently in their financial statements. It has been a series with great returns for Toei especially internationally despite the absence of many animation projects. The slow pace of release of the series might have been an impediment to an interest in animating it by the studio but with its completion the series can be animated without worry of running short on content due to releases. 

New Serialisation Round

 

A new serialisation round is starting in WSC and it is really the first real round under the new editor in chief Matsuyama.  There have been new series before this one namely the V tuber collab project called 'Shiranai Kenykuubu' or Shiraken for short and 'They want to Fill in the Holes' that began in issue 6 and 13 respectively, with the former seeing what seems to be a good levels of sales whilst the latter has not had a volume released yet.

Shiraken was likely planned before the editorial shakeup at the end of last year, so the first series of this new editorial makeup most likely was the romance comedy title 'They Want to Fill in the Holes.' The series seems quite to lean heavily on ecchi that seems a bit out of touch with what romcom audiences seem to favour at the moment, and even thought the art especially coloured does have a nice touch to it in my eyes, the series overall is quite bland.

Moving on to the actual topic of discussion, we have the upcoming new series round and the first one under the new editorial department. 

The first one is 'Mamori Kyoudai no Sahanji' by Kuranto Yukiaki and Itonoko already started and it is based on a oneshot of the same name that was published only a few months ago in issue 16. The fast turnaround to serialisation likely means it was a popular one-shot with readers. It is a comedy series focusing on three brothers with a focus on the youngest brother that is an ordinary high schooler whilst his older brothers, one is a popular comedian and the other a super idol. It does feel like it a series aimed at a female audience, in a way it reminds me of Tanaka is Always Listless. I expect this series to be successful due to the one-shot success. 

The second 'Davul no Oukan' by Todoroki Akira begins in Issue 31 and it is not based on any previously published one-shot. The description seems to suggest it is focused on the life of the strongest former assassin and it will be an violent action series. From the author side not much can be drawn from either, Todoroki Akira is not someone that has published before in the magazine before or won any rookie awards but the possibility exists that they could have changed their penname. Overall, its a wait and see.

The third series is 'Kimi wa Yotsuba no Clover by Koushi' and it begins in Issue 33. Koushi is an author that has already published series previously including for Akita Shoten in Manga Cross (now Champion Cross) named Isekai Saikyou, Nihon de JK to Konkatsu suru' that ended with three volumes last year. They had another series in 2022 that ended with three volumes with only digital release. The things to take from the previous titles they published was that they were both isekai stories largely focused on comedy with a romantic edge. In this new series the motif is the four leaf clover, and the description talks about fortune and destiny and dubs the series a 'love suspense'. It would be move away from their previous works that were comedy focused series. 

The last series is Mogaku by Gumi and Maru and it begins in issue 34. Gumi and Maru is now an artist and author separate but they won the 16th Next Champion Award as Gumimaru under one name as a duo. The one-shot that won the award 'Sekitoba' that was published in issue 10 this year. The fact the series is inspired by a one-shot, suggest it was quite popular. In fact its the first Next Champion winning one-shot to become a series. Going back to the authors, the two are actually childhood friends who wanted to become manga author, well they got published... not it is whether it succeeds.

The series is a track cycling racing (Keirin) series where the main character is betting his life for his family. In the one-shot the main character's father was a cyclist but he passed away and because it seems he was the main earner, it left the family on hard times and it becomes even worse after his mother has an accident. So as the eldest brother, he has to take up the burden of breadwinner and through Keirin to be able to support his family. It is an interesting setting, economic difficulties is not an usual motivation in sports manga nowadays, but it can act as a real rather than a bland motivator that underpins the main character personality. 

Well that is the round..