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Anipopo Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for Give My Regards to Black Jack Anime

The animation crowdfunding service Anipopo launched a new project on Friday to create an anime adaptation of Shuho Sato's Give My Regards to Black Jack (Black Jack ni Yoroshiku) medical manga. The project hopes to raise 7.5 million yen (about US$76,328) to create the 21-minute first episode using a technique called "in-motion production." The deadline for the project is November 26.

Studio Kuma (Timing, Bizarre Cage, assistance on Folktales from Japan) has created a three-minute anime promotional video for the project using this technique.

Shuhei Ueyama, CEO of Isaona Inc. and a member of the team who translated Sato's manga into English, is in charge of the project. The project aims from the start to create an anime with English localization. The funding will be used to complete the first episode, then the studio hopes to receive sponsorship to complete the rest of the series. The money from crowd-funding will be used for the following: production cost (6 million yen or US$61,062), voice recording (1.2 million yen or US$12,207), and editing (300,000 yen or US$3,051). The funding will also be used for subtitle translation.

Pledge levels range from 1,000 yen (US$10) to 100,000 yen (US$1,017), and rewards range from being able to watch the finished anime streaming, to a DVD disc of the episode, credits on the release, an original dubbing script with an autograph, and a special tour during recording. Shipping outside of Japan varies from 2,000 yen (US$20) to 3,000 yen (US$30) depending on the pledge level.

As of press time the project has raised 1,000 yen (US$10).

Give My Regards to Black Jack follows Saito Eijiro, a new intern doctor who is forced to take on a second night job at another hospital because of his low salary. As he travels back and forth between both hospitals, he learns more and more about Japan's mostly-corrupted medical society, and starts to question his own beliefs and what it means to be a doctor. The manga was adapted into a live-action drama in 2003, but has not yet received an anime adaptation.

Shuho Sato is also the author of the Umizaru and The Isle of TOKKOU manga series. Sato announced in April 2012 that he would make all derivative usage of Say Hello to Black Jack, both commercial and non-commercial, free of restrictions for anyone as of September 15, 2012. Sato announced his plans to allow derivative use of Give My Regards to Black Jack after revealing that he cancelled his publishing contract with Kodansha for the manga.

Amazon's Kindle e-book store began offering the manga in English under the title Give My Regards to Black Jack last September, but only Japanese editions are now available on the retail website.

Sato has been offering his manga and other creators' titles on MangaonWeb since April 2010. He asked for volunteer English translators later that year.

The beta for the animation crowdfunding service Anipipo launched on May 23 with Kenji Itoso's original anime film Santa Company, "ABC of Akari," and other titles. The Santa Company campaign failed to reached its goal of 1 million yen by less than US$1,000 by its deadline in July. The ten-minute short "ABC of Akari" by Spanish studio Anigo Animation also expired without meeting its Anipopo goal. The project raised 81,000 yen (US$808) of the 3,660,000 yen (US$36,519) goal.

Anipipo also hosted a crowdfunding campaign to turn the Tohoku post-quake support character Tohoku Zunko into a Vocaloid. The project met its goal in July.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.