‘Pokémon Concierge’ Teaser: Discover A Vacation Resort Like No Other In Netflix Animated Series

Marta Balaga Everyone says: “I love you,” at least in Lille, where Japanese star Tomohisa Yamashita – in town to promote “Drops of God” – brought fans to tears. With one admitting that thanks to his 2005 series “Nobuta Wo Produce,” where he played the character of Akira, she decided not to commit suicide 14 years ago.  “You saved my life,” she said. In between interacting with a clearly overwhelmed audience, Japanese singer, dancer, talk show host and actor (“Call me Tomo,” he told his fans) discussed his multifaceted career, one that started when he was just 11 years old. 

Pink Parrot, for example, unveiled a bevy of pre-sales on comedy romp “4 Days Before Christmas,” led by deals with Germany’s Splendid and Kaleidoscope in the U.K. FilmSharks has closed Latin America with The Walt Disney Co./Star Distribution on “Dalia and the Red Book,” as well as Germany, Russia/CIS and Taiwan with the U.S., France, Japan, Spain and Italy in discussions. Open-market international sales for theatrical distribution have sagged terribly in the past two decades on all but standout titles. One exception, which can still deliver seven figure returns, is animation.  Despite a slowing sales cycle, Mafiz and the Spanish Screenings still saw a dizzying slew of announcements. Following, a selection: 

Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner has said that she has grown to “appreciate” her late mother’s lack of support throughout her career – crediting it with making her into the artist she is today.The alt-pop singer discussed her tumultuous relationship with her parent in a new interview on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend – explaining how she believes the backlash she received ultimately led to her success with Japanese Breakfast. Asked if her complicated relationship with her mother acted as a catalyst for her creativity, Zauner replied: “I think, if anything, […] it really affirmed how badly I wanted it. It’s almost like, if your parents are like, ‘Oh great, yeah, go be an artist’, you almost don’t want it anymore.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The blockbuster French cast of Amazon Prime Video’s third season of “LOL: Qui rit, qui sort” speaks volumes about the Japanese variety format’s tremendous popularity in France. The Amazon Original series, adapted from the format “LOL: Last One Laughing,” scored its biggest launch to date on Prime Video in France since bowing on March 10. The show is one of the streamer’s first unscripted originals in France and has been a major coup as a brand exercise that’s succeeded with limited resources — certainly in comparison to scripted comedy. Adaptations of “LOL” have also thrived in Italy and Germany where they have ranked as the most watched local titles on the service, respectively. Local versions are also available in Spain, Canada, Mexico and Australia (hosted by Rebel Wilson).

Frank Doelger’s eco-thriller drama The Swarm has made a splash on German TV.

Netflix will splash the cash in the APAC region this year, boosting content investment by 15% as revenues grow by 12%, according to a report from Media Partners Asia (MPA).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Global streaming operation Netflix is forecast to spend $1.9 billion on local content in the Asia-Pacific region this year as group revenue from the region accelerates to 12%, according to a new report. The content investment spending figure represents a 15% hike. Netflix will grow revenues this year by 12% year-on-year to exceed $4 billion compared with 9% growth in 2022, says a new report published on Monday by Media Partners Asia.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor AMC Networks’ Sentai Filmworks unit reached an agreement with Japan’s Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) that provides exclusive rights for AMC’s anime-focused HIDIVE streaming service to distribute part of MBS’s future programming lineup in all global markets outside of Asia. The pact is Sentai’s biggest-ever deal for anime content, according to the company. The output deal encompasses MBS’s programming slate based on a collection of popular manga and light novel titles. All of the shows will be available exclusively on HIDIVE outside of Asia. Among the shows covered in the Sentai-MBS output is “The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior” (pictured above). The new show, scheduled to premiere in July 2023, is a 12-episode series based on hit fantasy light novel by Tenichi and published by Ichijinsha. The series is being directed by Norio Nitta and written by Deko Akao with animation by OLM.

Netflix has announced a new Pokémon series is set to launch on the platform, but fans of the franchise have been left hugely divided. In celebration of Pokémon Day on Monday (February 27), the streaming giant confirmed new series Pokémon Concierge is coming soon.

Jordan Moreau Netflix has gotta catch ’em all. The streamer is teaming up with The Pokémon Company to create “Pokémon Concierge,” an upcoming stop-motion animated series. The series will follow “Haru, a concierge at the Pokémon Resort, and her interactions with Pokémon and their owners who visit as guests,” the logline says. A short teaser for “Pokémon Concierge,” announced on Monday, Feb. 27, a.k.a. Pokémon Day 2023, showed a blissful, sandy beach with a Psyduck waddling along the shore. “This is the Pokémon Resort. Pokémon are the guests here. Here is the story of the resort’s concierge,” a narrator says. The official poster for the show revealed Haru, a young, red-headed girl in a floral, Hawaiian-style shirt (covered with grass-type Oddishes), with her Psyduck.

Netflix and The Pokémon Company announced on Monday that the two are teaming up for a new stop-motion animated series called “Pokémon Concierge,” revealing a short teaser for the new show.Expanding the Pokémon world, the story follows Haru, a concierge at the ‘Pokémon Resort,’ and her interactions with Pokémon and their owners who visit as guests. You can see her hanging with Psyduck in the first teaser video above.The ambitious project is a collaboration between Netflix, The Pokémon Company and dwarf studios, which is handling production.“Netflix is looking forward to delighting fans in Japan and around the world with ‘Pokémon Concierge,’ an entirely new visual and storytelling experience featuring ground-breaking stop-motion animation set in the Pokémon world in close collaboration with The Pokémon Company,” Minyoung Kim, Vice President of Netflix Content in Asia, said in a statement.

Netflix has teamed with The Pokémon Company on a stop-motion animated series marking 17 years since the release of the firstPokémon game. Scroll down for a teaser.

There are scores of apps aiming to help us monitor our mental health, but sometimes the best approach is to turn off technology. Getting outdoors in parks, woodland and other natural settings has long been known to improve people’s mood – the Japanese call it shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing”. But recently researchers have been investigating whether spending time with animals can have similar benefits.

The Record Club will welcome The Go! Team as its latest guests this week.

Leiji Matsumoto, the Japanese manga and anime creator known for science fiction sagas, TV series like Space Pirate Captain Harlock and music videos for Daft Punk, died of acute heart failure on February 13. He was 85.

Schitt’s Creek co-creator Eugene Levy has opened up about revealing his authentic, non-adventurous side in Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveler, which he said gave him “a sense of confidence.”

Mark Schilling Japan Correspondent Leading Japanese manga artist Matsumoto Leiji, whose space operas became known to fans globally in animated incarnations, died on Feb. 13 in Tokyo at age 85. His representatives announced on Monday that the cause of death was heart failure.   Born Matsumoto Akira in 1938 in Kurume, a city on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, Matsumoto began drawing manga professionally after his arrival in Tokyo at age 18. He made his debut in 1954 with a comic titled “Mitsubachi no Boken” (Adventure of the Honey Bee).  

Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV has finalized a deal with Netflix to produce ten-part unscripted comedy series Ariyoshi Assists. 

“I think we need to find a way to avoid the U.S. brainwash,” said Newen Connect CEO Rodolphe Buet at this morning’s Berlinale Series Adapting to the Market session.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The latest series from Alex de la Iglesia and “Veneno” creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo feature at a first-look Next from Spain Showcase which marks a massive step-up in the country’s presence at the Berlinale Series Market. Running Feb. 20-22, the showcase also unveils “Rapa” Season 2, with its first season proving Movistar+’s biggest 2022 bow, and “This Is Not Sweden,” a pioneering Spanish co-production with Scandinavia and Germany.  The Showcase titles are joined by Isaki Lacuesta’s “The Chauffeur’s Son,” a Co-Pro Series project from “Elite’s” Zeta Studios, and “Selftape,” a Filmin Original from Filmax and a Series Market Screening.