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Train Heroes, a fully CG anime series produced in China, will premiere in April on six networks affiliated with TV Tokyo Corp., with leading toymaker Tomy Co. set to release related toys in the same month in Japan.
Music company Avex Entertainment Inc. will provide the theme song, while Shogakukan Inc.'s Terebi-kun magazine will also be featuring manga versions of the anime series.
It is unusual for a Chinese animated series to utilize a multimedia approach.
The 30-minute, 26-episode action-adventure series is set in the year 2100 and follows the story of super-speed trains equipped with artificial intelligence.
The fully CG anime series was produced by Jiangsu Carloon Film and Animation Media Co., which is part of the Changzhou broadcasting group, based in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, with the help of TV Tokyo and other entities.
A theatrical version will be released in 2013 in China before the TV series airs in Japan. The Chinese studio is also eager to export the anime to Asia, the United States, and Europe.
TV Tokyo initially announced in 2011 that it would produce Train Heroes in China.
According to TV Tokyo, the broadcaster decided to fund the joint project by buying a worldwide license for the series in countries and regions other than China. By doing so, Train Heroes became an animated series exclusively funded by China.
In China, strict broadcasting and screening regulations are placed not only on foreign titles, but also have been placed on joint multinational projects in recent years. However, making Train Heroes into a Chinese production can expand the possibilities for TV broadcasts and theatrical releases in the country.
Meanwhile, Carloon can gain Japanese expertise on planning and developing anime works and make its name known as the creator of Train Heroes.
Train Heroes on TV Tokyo’s Site:
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/trainheroes/ (Japanese)
Source:
http://animeanime.jp/article/2013/03/10/13244.html (Japanese)
