Saudi Arabia, September 30: Manga Productions announced today a partnership deal with Virgin Megastore to produce merchandise for the Saudi-anime series “Future’s Folktales” as well as the upcoming Anime movie “The Journey.” These products will be available for purchase in all Virgin Megastore branches in the Kingdom from 2021.
This is the first large-scale deal for IP merchandising in KSA and is considered to be one of the first deals in the newly evolving creative industry. The merchandise will reflect the graphic style that makes Japanese manga so distinctive and that has helped make Future Folktales so popular with Saudi and Arab audiences.
“Future’s Folktales”, which launched last January, is the first Saudi anime show to be produced in cooperation with Toei Animation, the first animation studio in Japan. The 13-episode series is set in Saudi Arabia in the future and centres around a grandmother keeping her Arabic heritage alive by telling folktales to her grandchildren. The series retells tales of Arabian heritage, values and morals in a futuristic and creative setting to inspire future generations and keep these treasured stories alive.
“We are pleased to cooperate with Virgin Megastore to highlight further the role the creative industry plays in promoting Saudi culture and heritage. TV, movies, figurines and other merchandise all play a part in developing positive content for young Saudis as well as introduce Saudi culture to the world in an engaging and accessible format,” said Dr. Essam Bukhari, CEO of Manga Productions.
Commenting on this announcement, Mohamed Ramadan, CEO of Virgin Megastore, said: “We are proud to partner with Manga Productions to expand the success of “Future’s Folktales” and help promote the upcoming film “The Journey.” This partnership is the first in a series of collaborations between our two companies that will help advance the development of the creative sector and introduce more people around the world to Saudi culture.”
Through a variety of animation and video game projects, Manga Productions uses creative content to introduce Saudi culture and values to the world. The company aims to be a global leader in the production of innovative content that contributes to building creative and ambitious generations.
