The popular comedy anime, Dropkick on My Devil, met its costly Season 4 crowdfunding goal in less than an hour.
As detailed by Otaku USA Magazine, the series' creators lacked the funds to animate the planned season, as the production cost of one cour, or part, of an anime, costs about 300 million yen (roughly 2.281 million at the time of writing.) Turning to the fanbase for help, on Nov. 30, the series' creators set up a crowdfunding goal of 30 million yen (equal to about $228,885), hoping that they'd at least acquire enough funds to produce an OVA, if not Season 4 in its entirety. However, the series met this initial goal within one hour and, as of Dec. 18, has collected 60,800,166 yen (roughly $462,598) from over 1,000 contributors. The campaign will remain open until Jan. 13.
Dropkick on My Devil Experienced Crowdfunding Controversy
Dropkick's creators also encountered problems with the funding of Season 3 due to a financial dispute with Japan's Furano City. This dispute took place due to controversial dialogue in one episode of Dropkick that the city's committee found "damaging" to the region's image. During Season 3, episode 9, the series' characters visit Furano City as sightseers, but at one point, a character named Medusa announces, albeit in comedic, over-the-top fashion, that she must "sell her organs to pay off her debts to the city."
Furano City, which had pledged to pay publicity funds for the episode under Japan's Furusato Nozei system, deemed this joke "socially unacceptable" and subsequently refused to finance the episode's costly price tag of 33 million yen (roughly $251,075). Furano City's mayor, Taketoshi Kita, publicly denounced this decision, stating that "intervening and criticizing free speech is a regrettable thing."
The artist Yukiwo created the original Jashin-chan Dropkick manga, which began serializing in the web magazine Comic Meteor in April 2012. Nomad's animated adaptation revolves around a witch named Yurine Hanazono who summons Jashin-chan from hell. While the two share an apartment together in Tokyo, Jashin-chan frequently concocts elaborate schemes to murder Yurine, thereby freeing her and allowing her to return home. However, these murder attempts often backfire in comedic ways. Taku Yamada directed Season 3 alongside Chief Director, Hikaru Sato. Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime) and Momoko Murakami wrote Season 3's script. Aina Suzuki and Nichika Omori star as Jashin-chan and Yurine Hanazono, respectively.
Season 1 of Dropkick on My Devil is available on Prime Video.
Source: Otaku USA Magazine