Kuala Lumpur, January 26, 2021: Creator driven studio Lil Critter Workshop has acquired the rights from publishing giant Kadokawa Gempak Starz (Gempak Starz) to develop comic series ‘Lawak Kampus’ into an anime TV series.
The ‘Lawak Kampus’ comic since its release in 2003 has taken the region by storm, available in Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin and English with a readership of 150,000 in Malaysia. With audiences in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and China, recognised as a breakthrough for Malaysia’s comic landscape, ‘Lawak Kampus’ follows three best friends and their school mates as they learn to navigate essential life skills at school. Keith Chong, the creator of Lawak Kampus is the man responsible for Lawak Kampus’s enduring success.
The ‘Lawak Kampus’ anime TV series will be targeting kids and families in the Asia Pacific territories, in ten-minute laugh out loud episodes. The series aims to explore the themes of relationships, inclusion, self-acceptance during one’s school years.
“We thank Kadokawa Gempak Starz for trusting us to develop these four-panel Malaysian comic treasure. The opportunity to introduce new audiences to the world of Lawak Kampus is a dream come true for our team. We will have lots of fun developing this truly Malaysian collection of colourful and crazy characters into animated life,” said Walid Omar, Executive Producer of Lil Critter Workshop.
“The folks here at Kadokawa Gempak Starz are highly anticipating the production of ‘Lawak Kampus.’ We have full faith in the creatives at Lil Critter Workshop when it comes to transforming our legendary comic for TV audiences,” said Chris Yew, CEO of Kadokawa Gempak Starz.
With over 6.5 million copies sold in Malaysia alone, ‘Lawak Kampus’ is a welcoming challenge to the team at Lil Critter Workshop. The studio - which boasts a portfolio of seven IPs on its slate in just six years – also provides animation services to the USA and the UK. Hogie The Globehopper, Outlaw Dark and Buck+Buddy are some of Lil Critter Workshop’s notable productions; the studio has produced over 447 episodes of animation.
Given the demand for anime in the current market and the existing fanbase of the ‘Lawak Kampus’ comic, the anime TV series is expected to attract a large-scale audience of not just children but adults as well in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
About Lil Critter Workshop
Lil Critter Workshop is a creator-driven, high energy, full-service production house based in Malaysia. Specializing in content creation, development and 2D animation service work, Lil Critter Workshop was established in 2013 by Executive Producer, Walid Omar. The studio boasts 320 episodes of animation and Flash and Harmony pipelines, with seven Intellectual Properties (IPs) on its slate. Powered by MY Creative Ventures, Lil Critter Workshop has been recognised as a producer to watch at MIPTV 2020 for its global services and original IP development and production on platforms such as Cartoon Network, Netflix, CITV and Discovery Kids.
For more information, visit our website: https://www.lilcritterworkshop.tv
Follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/lilcritterworkshop/
About Kadokawa Gempak Starz
We began back in 1994 as ART SQUARE GROUP, an advertising agency servicing various blue-chip companies before subsequently diversifying into publishing. Sustained success consequently saw the establishment of GEMPAK STARZ, our graphic novel publishing arm in 2001. By 2013, our output was over 250 publications of various genres from acclaimed local, regional, and international artists.
In November 2015, we joined forces with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Japan’s leading entertainment content provider and renamed ourselves KADOKAWA GEMPAK STARZ. Now, we are in the midst of advancing ourselves – from being Malaysia’s biggest publisher of comics and graphic novels to becoming one of the world’s most prolific creators of creative
content.
With KADOKAWA’s 70-plus years of experience and know-how fuelling our rise, we are positioned to grow into a broad-based media company boasting a diverse multiplatform portfolio, including animation, games, and other digital and multimedia content in addition to our comics, novels, and magazines.
At the very heart, we are a creative company.
We are KADOKAWA GEMPAK STARZ.
For more information, visit our website: https://gempakstarz.com/
Follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/gempakstarzpage