Disney signed a deal with Kodansha to release new animated works based on the publisher's popular titles.
As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Disney is teaming up with Kodansha to co-produce a plethora of new anime originals for Disney+. The entertainment titan will also have licensing rights to several anime titles based on Kodansha's manga, such as Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown Arc, which launches on Disney+ in January 2023. Disney announced some of the upcoming projects on the Disney+ Japan Twitter account. While these series are branded as Disney+ exclusives, they will be produced by several different animation studios, including Studio 4℃, 8 bit, E&H production, and GAGA.
More Anime Is Coming to Disney+
Studio 4℃'s Phoenix: Eden 17 is based on the unfinished Phoenix manga written by Osamu Tezuka. Known by many as, "the Godfather of manga," Tezuka is responsible for some of the most iconic anime and manga series of all time, such as Astro Boy, Black Jack and Kimba the White Lion. Tezuka's Phoenix manga revolves around the titular "Bird of Fire," as it journeys through the ages, watching over humanity and overseeing the natural cycle of death and rebirth. Instead of having one central protagonist, Phoenix follows several different human characters, many of which seek out the Phoenix with the hope of receiving eternal wisdom or even eternal life. According to a short plot description included with the post, Phoenix: Eden 17 will revolve around a character named Romi as she leaves behind "the dying earth" for a planet called "Eden 17".
The second series, Murai in Love, is based on Junta Shima's popular manga of the same name. According to the post, the plot is a "non-stop romantic comedy" about a male student who falls in love with a teacher. However, the teacher is in love with the "preferred character" of an otome (story-based) game. Although a short, manga-style teaser trailer is included in the announcement post, the translated version of the post does not specify if Murai in Love is a film or a series.
Unlike Phoenix: Eden 17 and Murai in Love, the other animated works are not based on any existing properties. Studio 8 bit and Bandai Namco's upcoming Synduality is a science fiction series revolving around an "AI-equipped humanoid" living among the remnants of humanity in a "devastated future." Yusuke Yamamoto will direct the series, while Takashi Aoshima will write the Series Composition. E&H Production and GAGA's series, provisionally titled Bullet/Bullet, is based on an idea by Jujutsu Kaisen director Sung Hoo Park. While not much has yet been revealed about the story, a piece of promotional artwork shows what are presumably the main characters standing in the middle of a desolate wasteland while a large city looms in the distance.
Phoenix Eden 17 and Synduality will debut on Disney+ sometime in 2023. The release windows for Bullet/Bullet and Murai in Love have not yet been announced.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Twitter