Government Sponsored Okinawin Anime Announced

The Okinawa based Ryukyu Shinpo newspaper has announced that Kokoro Momo’s four-panel comic strip Gajumaru Family will be adapted into anime by the local Okinawa Digital Motion studio based in Uruma City. About 300 strips in the manga serial about the daily life of an Okinawa family has been published in the Ryukyu Shinpo newspaper since 2004.

The animation production will be funded by a stipend from the Japanese government’s stimulus grant to revitalize employment throughout the country. The initial anime will be a three episode series, with an estimated 300 to 500 copies of each episode produced on DVD. About half of the DVDs will be distributed for free to local residents. The remainder will be used for nationwide promotional purposes. Okinawa Digital Motion anticipates expanding the Gajumaru Family anime adaptation into a major commercial production within two years following the premiere of the initial anime adaptation.

Source: Anime News Network