The Cartoon Network has announced three new anime series for its popular Adult Swim block, which is expanding to five times per week starting January 12 (see 'Adult Swim Goes to Five Nights a Week'), when it will begin airing from 11 pm to 2 am (ET, PT), Sunday through Thursday. The three series, which are uniquely suited to the Adult Swim 18-34 demographic, are Lupin the Third, Reign: The Conqueror, and Trigun.  The good news for retailers is that all three series have merchandise elements that are either already available or should be available by the time the series are broadcast.

 

Lupin the Third, which debuts on Monday, January 13, will be the first of the new series to air.  Based loosely on the character created by Maurice Leblanc in his Arsene Lupin novels about a crafty gentleman thief who manages to stay two jumps ahead of the law, Lupin the Third (supposedly the grandson of Arsene) is one of the most venerable anime properties, with an older pedigree than even the long-running Gundam series.  The original Lupin the Third anime series from 1971 includes several great episodes directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who also directed one of the best Lupin feature length anime, The Castle of Cagliostro, which is available from Manga Entertainment -- and which should be recommended by retailers to any customers that express interest in the series.  Pioneer is planning to put out the first volume of the Lupin the Third anime series on January 28 ($24.98 srp -- see 'Pioneer Gets Lupin III').  At the same time Pioneer is also releasing a special audio CD of the 13 most popular tunes from the series -- the Sideburn Club Mix Lupin the Third CD, which will retail for $14.98.  Funimation has already released Lupin the Third TV movies (see 'Funimation Signs Lupin III'), and Tokyopop is publishing English language editions of the original Lupin the Third manga series by Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Kato).

 

Trigun is one of those sci-fi westerns that tend to turn out so well in the anime format (Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, etc.).  Based on the manga series by Yasuhiro Nightow, the 26-episode Trigun anime series from 1998 also benefits from superb character design by Takahiro Yoshimatsu.  The entire Trigun anime series is available in a deluxe box set format from Pioneer ($199.98 srp), while Guardians of Order has published two Ultimate Fan Guides to the series ($24.98 retail each).  Diamond has a number of cool Trigun import items including Kubricks (see 'Diamond Gets Exclusive Trigun Kubricks'), figures (see 'Big Gun Comes To Town' and 'Back in Black'), and resins (see 'Diamond Select Gears Up'), while Toycom and others have also imported superbly designed Trigun figures (see 'Toycom's Anime Offerings').

 

The other new anime series set for the Cartoon Network is based on the life of Alexander the Great, and while Reign (as it is known here in the U.S.) hasn't spawned the sort of toy offerings that Trigun has, Tokyopop is planning a major promotional campaign for it Reign: The Conqueror DVD series (see 'Tokyopop Has Alexander the Great Anime').

 

The announcement of the three new anime series for the Cartoon Network indicates that the current leading force in the presentation of anime on television to the American public is not going to lie down in the face of competition from the All-Anime cable channel that ADV Films is preparing to launch early in 2003 (see 'ADV To Launch 24-Hour Anime Network').  The good news for anime fans and retailers alike is that competition between the new Anime Network and the Cartoon Network is going to result in the broadcasting of many new anime series to the American public -- and many of these series are going to be aimed at the more mature 18-34 demographic -- the demographic that makes up the preponderance of customers at many pop culture stores.