Animaccord's First ‘Masha and the Bear’ CP Deal Confirmed in Japan

“We are very excited about the opportunity to bring ‘Masha and the Bear’ picture books to Japanese readers and extremely grateful to our partners from Kodansha for believing in the brand from the very beginning by choosing our IP and developing the original stories best suited for the little audience in Japan,” says Nikolay Apukhtin, senior licensing manager, APAC, Animaccord.

The licensed picture books – both physical and e-books – will feature the original stories based on the series. The first book is releasing this April in Japan.

 “‘Masha and the Bear’ finally arrived to Japan,” says Yuri Sakai, editor in charge, Kodansha. “We are going to tell Japanese Children about delightful days of cute Masha and you-always-can-rely-on Bear through our picture books.”

The “Masha and the Bear” books are distributed to all major