Saudi Arabia’s Manga Productions Licenses ‘Grendizer’ For Amusement Parks And Events Across The Middle East

Anime is growing in popularity all around the world, and that’s especially true in Saudi Arabia where One Piece Film Red just smashed the country’s record for the biggest-ever opening box office for a Japanese animated film, selling 61,000 admissions for a box office of $1.04 million USD.

Riding the rising tide of anime popularity in the region, Saudi company Manga Productions has struck a deal with Japanese licensing company Dynamic Planning which includes licensing Grendizer and using franchise characters at amusement parks and events across the Middle East.

Details:

• UFO Robot Grendizer, created by Dynamic Planning owner Go Nagai, first hit the air on October 5, 1975, and ran for 74 episodes. It’s part of the larger Mazinger trilogy along with Mazinger and Great Mazinger.
• Back in August, Manga and Dynamic Planning first hinted at “Project G,” a plan to revitalize the cult classic Grendizer franchise. Few details were revealed at that time, and the project is not mentioned in today’s announcement (although the image sent with the release was titled “Project G”).
• Manga is no newcomer to working with Japanese partners. The company previously co-produced the animated feature The Journey with legendary Japanese production company Toei Animation (One Piece, Dragon Ball), which also happens to be the animation studio for UFO Robot Grendizer.
• In a release, Manga Productions CEO Essam Bukhary said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Dynamic Planning on licensing Grendizer, and further activating the popular IP in the Middle East. Manga Productions has had successful co-production experiences with our Japanese partners, resulting in a high level of trust from them and recording multiple successes because of the joint collaboration; this partnership further positions Manga Productions to enhance the creative content industry in the field of business… as we have already achieved more than 300 million views on our co-productions and trained over 500 Saudi talents with our esteemed partners.”
• Dynamic Planning executive producer Ichinao Nagai added: “We are confident that our partnership with Manga Productions will solidify our beloved IP Grendizer one of Mr. Go Nagai’s cherished creations, and will enhance various entertainment and interactive experiences in the Middle East that will please our audiences in the region. We are confident we will be able to increase the popularity of Grendizer with Manga Productions through this strategic partnership by activating different initiatives.”