A new series of ''Ninja Hattori-kun'' will be made in India, where the Japanese animation series has been a major hit, TV Asahi Corp. has said. The new series will be aired in India beginning in May and possibly in Japan as well sometime by the end of the year, TV Asahi said Tuesday. The new cartoons of ''Ninja Hattori-kun,'' based on ''gag manga'' comics by cartoonist Fujiko Fujio (A), will be the first in around 25 years.
After the cartoonist draws 26 new stories, TV Asahi's subsidiary animation studio will do some basic work on the material and an Indian production company will create the animation series, according to the broadcaster. The previous series was aired in Japan from 1981 to 1987 and in India from 2004. The broadcaster is aiming to boost profits from the so-called content business, including animation, in India in cooperation with Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc. ''We hope to promote business in the Asian region, taking advantage of production costs that are around half our current ones,'' TV Asahi President Hiroshi Hayakawa said. ''Ninja Hattori-kun'' features a child ninja who serves an elementary school boy in contemporary Tokyo.
Published on Friday, 17 February 2012








