Toynami has acquired the license to create action figures, statues, maquettes, bookends and other collectibles based on Tite Kubo's Bleach manga and anime. The Bleach manga, which debuted in Japan in 2001, is already up to 22 volumes (and still continuing); while the Bleach anime series, which first appeared in 2004, is also on-going and has recently passed 85 episodes.
ICv2 recently rated the Bleach manga as the tenth strongest manga property in the
Bleach is clearly a property to watch--it could well follow the arc of Naruto, which debuted on the Cartoon Network in September of last year. And the fact that Toynami is the primary toy licensee is good news for independent pop culture retailers, since Toynami eschews the mass-market and chain stores in a distribution strategy that concentrates on the core fan audience and strives the retain the 'cool' insider factor, while developing the property.
Toynami's George Sohn told ICv2 that in order to take advantage of the launch of the property on Adult Swim and to get some Bleach items out by the end of this year, Toynami will remanufacture and repackage the first series of 4' Bleach Figures released in
Toynami, which just acquired the Bleach license, has already assigned teams of sculptors the task of creating a new series of action figures and statues, but these items will not hit the market until the spring of 2007, although prototypes will be on display at Toy Fair in February.
Toynami is planning an extensive line of Bleach items that will build up gradually during 2007 and will include small PVC figures, 11' PVC figures, resin figurines with diorama bases, limited edition statues, bookends and deluxe 1/4-scale maquettes, which will come with authentic cloth costumes, and more.
