Turner Asia Pacific and TV Asahi have announced a collaboration on a new animated series called SUPER SHIRO.

The agreement includes broadcast rights across Asia Pacific (ex-China). This is the first regional deal between the two parties and includes a sizeable investment from Turner.

The fast-paced chase series is inspired by the hugely-popular “Crayon Shin chan”franchise, which has aired internationally since 1992. SUPER SHIROis produced by Shin-ei Animation, known for both “Doraemon”and “Crayon Shin chan”, and Science SARU, a Tokyo-based animation studio led by Masaaki Yuasa.

Masaaki Yuasa is the executive director on the series. He was a Cristal Award Winner at the 2017 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and recently won the41st Japan Academy Prize for “Animation of the Year”. He also guest-directed the “Food Chain” episode from Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time.

Edward Barnieh, Director of Acquisitions and Co-productions at Turner Asia Pacific, said: “Turner’s investment in the series is testament to its strategy of developing quality local IP and takes our long-term partnership with TV Asahi to the next level. We’re confident that this collaborative effort will result in the creation of another awesome fan-favourite.”

Takahiro Kishimoto, Head of Animation, International Business Departmentof TV Asahi, added: “We are delighted to partner with an international media company like Turner. With its extensive reach and brand recognition in Asia Pacific, we are certain kids will get to enjoy SUPER SHIROeven more. We truly believe this collaboration strengthens the partnership between our two companies.”

The kids series (48x5.5’) is expected to launch in early 2020 across Turner’s Kids channels Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO.


About SUPER SHIRO

Original IP: Yoshito Usui

Executive Director: Masaaki Yuasa

Director: Tomohisa Shimoyama; Script: Kimiko Ueno

Production House: Science SARU

Production Committee: Shin-ei Animation, TV Asahi, ADK EM and Futabasha