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America's Kung Fu Panda Film Gets Manga in Japan (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
Manga scenario writer Hanten Ōkuma and artist Takafumi Adachi launched a serialized manga adaptation of the American computer-animated comedy film Kung Fu Panda in the September issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Kerokero Ace magazine on Saturday. Not coincidentally, the movie opened on that day at the Japanese box office at #5. Like the film, the manga recounts the story of Po, a panda who dreams of becoming the legendary kung fu master known as the Dragon Warrior.
The same issue also launched Slayers Light Magic, the finalized title for the manga that transports the Slayers characters Lina and Gourry to the near future. Comic scenario writer Hibiki/Tenchimaru and manga creator Shin Sasaki draw this spinoff manga that is based on Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi's Slayers fantasy comedy light novels. Central Park Media released several of the different Slayers manga titles in North America.
Kadokawa published online a manga spinoff to Cloverfield, another American film, earlier this year. One of the first American movies to get a manga adaptation was the first Star Wars film, although a company is promoting its DVDs for Casablanca and other early classic Hollywood films by bundling new manga adaptatons with them.
Source: Muhyojo
Image © DreamWorks Animation LLC
© Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi/Fujimi Shobo/Slayers R Production Committee
Update: The same Kerokero Ace issue launched the Battle Spirits: Shōnen Toppa Bashin manga, which is Hideaki Fujii's tie-in to Bandai's new card game.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history