Tokyopop announced the February release of the anime series Reign: The Conqueror, which puts a twenty-first century, science fiction spin on the life of Alexander the Great.  Produced by Studio Madhouse in 1999 under the title Alexander Senki (Alexander's War Chronicles), this 13-episode anime series features character design by Peter Chung, the Korean-born artist best known in the U.S. for his work on MTV's popular Aeon Flux cartoon.  The first DVD in the series, which contains the first four episodes, will hit retail on February 25 with a retail price of $29.99.

 

Tokyopop is planning a major ad campaign for the series, which will include radio promotion on key stations in the top 40 markets in the country along with 2-page ad spreads in Electonic Gaming Monthly, the Official Playstation Magazine, Animerica, Anime Invasion, and Sci-Fi Magazine.  Tokyopop's Alexander anime should also benefit from the fact that the Macedonian world conqueror is about as hot a property as you can find in Hollywood today, with two major studio biographies of Alexander currently in production.  Rumor has it that Tokyopop's anime series will also receive major TV exposure in the U.S., something that ICv2 will confirm as soon as the details are set.

 

The science fiction spin on the life of Alexander comes from the anime series' source material, a novel by Doomed Megalopolis creator Hiroshi Aramata.  In spite of the fantasy and sci-fi trappings, the series actually does an excellent job of chronicling Alexander's eventful life and all the key battles that made him 'ruler of the civilized world,' which to our parochial, western point of view, extended from Greece to India at that time.  Reports from Japan as well as Tokyopop's heavy commitment to promotion on this title both indicate that Reign: The Conqueror is an exceptional anime series.