Corus Entertainment-owned production and distribution arm Nelvana has joined forces with Japanese investment company Sumitomo to develop and co-produce new anime properties for the global market.

To support the project, Sumitomo has tapped Tokyo-based content creation firm Zeroichi to produce original anime and toy concepts.

Nelvana and Sumitomo will work together with Zeroichi president Shigeki Fujiwara—who was involved in the creation of brands like Beyblade and Majinbone—as well as Stuart Snyder, former president and COO of Cartoon Network. Snyder, who brought the parties together through his New York-based consultancy Snyder Media Group, will consult on the venture going forward.

The deal comes as anime continues to become increasingly popular in the global marketplace. Recently, California toymaker Jakks Pacific launched Studio JP, a joint venture with animation studio Rising Anime to capitalize on the genre. Meanwhile, Cyber Group Studios, Supamonk Studios and La Choutte Compagnie have also teamed up to create a new anime series entitled Droners.

From Kidscreen