Toei Animation has secured a number of Latin America-based licensees for cartoon animation series DRAGON BALL Z, ONE PIECE and SAINT SEIYA, it was announced today by Eduardo Lucio, sales manager, Latin America.
Included among the company’s prestigious roster of Latin American-based licensees are Panini for DRAGONBALL Z magnets in Mexico; Chenson for DRAGON BALL Z and SAINT SEIYA bags and backpacks in Mexico; Cordez for DRAGONBALL Z bags and backpacks in Brazil; Cardebras for ONE PIECE Notebooks in Brazil; Corp. Industrias Plasticas for DRAGON BALL Z balls and folders in Peru; Global Partners for DRAGON BALL Z binders and pencil cases in Argentina; Creative Hats for DRAGON BALL Z sunglasses in Argentina; Distribuidora Latapy for DRAGON BALL Z tricycles and skateboards in Argentina.
Now boasting 508 episodes, the DRAGON BALL phenomena follows Goku’s quest (main character in the series) to become the strongest martial artist in the universe and his search for the seven magic Dragon Balls in a saga that encompasses three parts — Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. Dragon Ball adapts Japanese big success comics of the same title by Akira Toriyama. Since this animated series produced in 1986, this has continued broadcasted in major European countries. In France, the series currently airs on MCM, NT1, AB1 and Mangas.
ONE PIECE is a story of a time when pirates ruled the seas. With several bands of pirates battling over the great hidden treasure called “One Piece” which was left by the legendary pirate king, Gold Roger. One day, Monkey D. Luffy — a young boy who admired pirates — mistakenly ate Cursed Fruit turning himself into a rubber man. Ten years later Luffy set out to sea to become King of the Pirates and launch his own quest to discover “One Piece.”
SAINT SEIYA, also known as KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, and later adapted to anime. The story follows five mystical warriors called the “Saints” who have adopted various constellations as their guardian symbols. The power of the Saints originates from the understanding of the “Cosmo”. The concept of the “Cosmo” advocates that each atom within a human body resembles a small solar system, and since the human body consists of billions of atoms, the totality forms a “small Cosmo” or a “small Universe”. Each person’s Cosmo has its own unique signature. The Saints take the knowledge of the Cosmo to the next level: since humans are composed of atoms, humans should be able to use the mysterious forces behind the atoms to achieve super human feats.
The story focuses on one of these orphans named Seiya, who is sent to a sanctuary in Greece to become the Pegasus Saint. After seven years, Seiya becomes the Pegasus Saint and returns to Japan to find his older sister but learns that she has disappeared. Seiya makes a deal with Saori Kido to fight in a tournament called the Galaxian Wars, where the orphans who survived and became Bronze Saints must fight to win the most powerful cloth called The Sagittarius Gold Cloth. If Seiya goes to compete there, Saori promises to help search for Seiya’s sister.
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