Taiwanese anime distributor Muse Communication has picked up Asian market rights to Science Saru’s upcoming series Dan Da Dan, which has already been acquired by global streamers Netflix and Crunchyroll.
This spooky series centers around high-schoolers Momo and Okarun, who discover hidden powers and start to fall in love with each other while investigating the existence of aliens and ghosts. Science Saru, the Tokyo-based studio behind Netflix original Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Super Shiro, adapted Dan Da Dan from a popular same-name manga that has generated more than 370 million views on the Shonen Jump+ app and online platform alone. Yukinobu Tatsu writes and illustrates this three-year-old series, which now has 13 volumes and 3.2 million print copies in circulation.
Netflix will stream Dan Da Dan globally starting in October, with Sony-owned streamer Crunchyroll doing the same in all markets except Asia.
Muse has more than 60 titles in its catalogue, including well-known anime series Attack on Titan, Spy x Family and Demon Slayer. The company licensed Dan Da Dan at this week’s FilMart market in Hong Kong, where it’s also hosting a showcase of new anime with international market potential.
This series could be especially well-positioned for franchise success, since it combines anime and horror—two trends that are predicted to be consumer products business drivers this year. Just last week, LA-based toyco KessCo signed a deal with Toei Animation to make tabletop games and outdoor toys based on the studio’s One Piece and Digimon anime franchises. And according to the World Population Review, 72% of people in the US watch anime regularly, with France on record as another hotbed at 62.5%.