TOKYOPOP announced at Anime Expo that it is jumping into the anime biz by co-producing an Eleceed anime, working on behalf of MBC Anime alongside a group of partners that includes Amuse, Bilibili, and ADN, among others. The anime, which is expected to premiere in early 2027, is based on a Korean webcomic of the same name that currently runs on the Webtoon platform, where it has 2.3 million subscribers and almost 500 million views. The story features a well-meaning young man who uses his lightning-fast reflexes to save endangered children, find lost pets, and do other good deeds, and a superpowered secret agent who is trapped in the body of a plump, elderly cat. The Penguin Random House imprint Inklore has announced a print edition (see “Random House Signs 14-Title Deal with Webtoon Entertainment“), and at AX they revealed that the first volume will be released in January 2027.
While TOKYOPOP has distributed anime in the past, this appears to be its first co-production. In the announcement, TOKYOPOP founder Stu Levy cited it as “one of the clearest examples yet of how TOKYOPOP is evolving from a manga publisher into a true 360° IP company.”Source: ICv2
