A local producer of Japanese animation announced last Tuesday a union between itself and a toy developer to sell miniature robots across the United States. Santa Monica-based Dentsu Entertainment USA, Inc. joined forces with Namco Bandai in creating a “multi-territory partnership” to distribute Japanese toys based upon the popular television series and franchise “Little Battlers eXperience,” or LBX.
Dentsu announced it also signed a similar agreement with TV Tokyo to distribute the toys in Europe. In both the United States and Europe, the line of LBX toys includes figures, role play, vehicles, and action model kits.
The toys, which are reportedly to be developed by Bandai, are expected to make its mass distribution debut in fall 2013; Dentsu develops LBX.
“With an exciting storyline and an organic transition from the TV screen to mass market toy products, we are confident that the LBX series and toys will appeal broadly in all markets worldwide,” said Dentsu President Yuma Sakata. “LBX is all about customizable battling robots, and Bandai has a great reputation for innovation and for producing inspiring, high-quality toy robots. We view this as a great alliance.”
An animated television series, LBX features miniature customizable robots and has already aired 44 prime time episodes on TV Tokyo. The show launched in March 2011 is in its second season.
“The LBX robots that appear in the series fit in the palm of your hand, which offers so many creative play possibilities,” Bandai American Chairman and CEO Masayuki Matsuo said. “We know kids are going to love this TV series and these toys!”
LBX is an original animation series based in 2050, where children have miniature robots they “build, customize, and play with in robot battles.”
Dentsu USA, the series’ developer, is headquartered here in Santa Monica and was itself launched in April 2010 as a subsidiary of its Japanese counterpart. Among the properties developed and licenses managed by Dentu’s American offices here include a toy series of street characters and vehicles in “Chub City,” a 52-episode animated series “Deltora Quest,” a collection of animated shorts in “Mameshiba,” and a joint venture toy project an television series “Monsuno.”
