A year after the first Pokemon licensed products hit u.s. store shelves, Pokemania shows no signs of dwindling. The pocket monster phenom continues to pique kids’ interest in anime, collecting and monsters.

Aiming to tap into that interest while it’s high, licensors with new anime series introducing their own kid and creature stars are wasting no time in getting licensing programs off the ground. Fox Kids’ fall entry Digimon: Digital Monsters and bkn’s newly launched Monster Rancher are unveiling products at retail this month, and Nelvana’s recent pickup, Cardcaptor, is opening its doors to broadcasters and licensees.

As it pursues a broadcast deal for Cardcaptor, Nelvana is confident that the property can afford a longer timeline in releasing licensing products since it not only involves anime, but is targeted squarely at a girl audience, while Pokemon, Digimon and Monster Rancher all skew more boy.

In Cardcaptor, the girl lead unleashes a host of mythical creatures when she inadvertently sets them free after unlocking a book that holds magical cards.

The market is ripe for another girls’ Japanese animation entry, says Sid Kaufman, Nelvana’s executive vp of worldwide merchandising, pointing to the success of Sailor Moon on tv and video and Hello Kitty in promotions. So confident is Nelvana that it acquired the North American distribution, home video and merchandising rights for 70 half-hours late this summer.

The 2D, cel-animated series, produced by Japan’s Kodansha, with the concept from artist team Clamp, traces its origins to a Japanese comic first published by Kodansha in 1996.

Kaufman envisions the licensing program as fashion-driven, launching with fashion dolls, publishing, apparel, accessories, backpacks, school supplies, stationery, home video and multimedia. The 10-year-old girl’s sidekick, a teddy bear-like creature, will translate well to plush. Collectibility will be a smaller aspect.

Kaufman is considering such items as subtitled video or dvd versions of the original Japanese series to appeal to the property’s secondary target audience of hardcore anime fans. ‘This [property] takes us into an area that we’re not in – a bit more of an older girls, fashion-driven program,’ says Kaufman. He believes licensees in the first major categories will be on board by the end of the year.

a version of this story appears in KidScreen magazine.