Kodansha releases a COVID-19 edition of Cells at Work motion-comics for India!
Comics are a massive entertaining medium that can boost efforts to
address complex topics of hygiene, health, and other social causes. Japanese
Comics are well known all across and have multiple genres unique in their own
way.
“Cells at Work” is a globally known Japanese comic title that has been
published by publishing giant Kodansha in 16 countries. It has sold over seven
million copies worldwide. The animation of this series has been aired in 130
countries including India.
Novel coronavirus-related special episodes of this massive-hit series
have been released online. These special episodes were devised to create a
proper awareness of COVID-19 and its prevention methods in countries all across
the world. Cells at Work Motion Comics are a powerful awareness tool that goes
beyond the limitations of language, race, color, religion, and all the other
barriers we erect between people. It is about the human body.
The project has been dedicated to all of the front-line medical workers
fighting against this virus. The Hindi version of the same episodes has been
created as the first step to connect deeper with the Indian audiences and
utilize the power of Japanese comics to support social causes.
The translation of these two episodes into English and Hindi from Japanese
has been supported by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). These
episodes will also be used as an educational tool in JICA’s “Achhi
Aadat (Good Habit)” campaign in India. Launched early this year, this
campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of hygiene and
sanitization practices for preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other
infectious diseases.
According to the Medical Supervisor/ M.D., Ph.D. Satoshi Kutsuna
(National Center for Global Health and Medicine) “The novel coronavirus
has spread across the world, with over one hundred seventy million infected and
no end in sight. Amid the worldwide pandemic, Kodansha, in partnership with the
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan, has created two new episodes
to the famous anthropomorphic manga, Cells at Work!, “Novel Coronavirus” and
“Preventing Novel Coronavirus Infection”.
The Novel coronavirus episodes are available for free as motion comics!
Do watch the videos here!
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNcqwhPhO46FTElfxO62o7fyveBKkNF6b
Japanese comics companies have an aspiring vision for the Indian market.
Manga Planet, a Global Japanese subscription-based service has plans to launch
its full-fledged service for the Indian audience soon.
Manga Planet aims to make Japanese comics content more interactive with
the power of creative storytelling to convey meaningful messages and
entertaining content to the Indian audience.
Through Manga Planet, Indian audiences can soon read comics from
popular Japanese publishers (including Kodansha). Hiroki Kurihara, President of
Manga Planet, states that “In the future, Manga Planet also aims
to focus on making our Japanese content more localized through translation in
different Indian languages and dialects; the discussions are in progress,”
Kurihara stated that COVID-19 acted as a hurdle to the company’s
original launch plans. “We had ambitious plans to launch in
India in 2020. However, with the current pandemic, they have been pushed as the
situation remains unpredictable. For now, we are focusing on gathering consumer
insights and connecting with our audience on our highly popular social media
platforms, (Manga Planet India). We will be launching our service and bringing
licensed Japanese comics to Indian soon in the near future.”
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