Amuse Group USA, part of Japan’s Amuse Entertainment conglomerate, is to unveil a slate of its latest projects intended for North American investment, adaptation, remake or coproduction.
The new IP will be pitched on Thursday at the second edition of A-Japan, an event that jointly operated by Amuse USA and the Visual Industry Promotion Organization, a non-profit agency intended to help the Japanese content industry become globally competitive.
The edition will be held online only and kick off at 11 am PDT. A recording of the event will remain on the Amuse USA website until the end of the month.
The precise identity of the seven original properties only will be disclosed during the event, and is intended as its big reveal. However, Amuse USA has already teased that they include: a novel that was listed on Time’s 100 Must Read Books of 2021; and a highly-acclaimed manga from a Harvey Awards winner.
The online sessions will also include a panel discussion aimed at presenting an insiders’ look at how Japanese IP can be adapted for the global market. Confirmed panelists include: author Sakurazaka Hiroshi, whose novel “All You Need Is Kill” was adapted into the Warner Bros film “Edge of Tomorrow”; Marutomi Yukiharu, a former editor-in-chief at Shueisha who facilitated Sakurazaka’s adaptation deal; and licensing executives from Akita Publishing (“Beastars,” the “Baki” franchise), one of Japan’s leading manga publishers.
The inaugural edition in 2021 included panels led by industry experts, and introduced six Japanese IPs to the global industry. Today, four out of those six IPs are in active development in the U.S. market.
“Through the global infrastructure of digital streaming and publishing, Japanese IPs are more easily accessible to worldwide fans than ever and have become a worldwide phenomenon as the hottest entertainment content in the industry,” said Kutami Yasu, VP of Amuse Group USA. “But I believe it’s still the tip of the iceberg. There are so many hidden treasures just underneath famous anime and manga titles you have already watched and read.”