HBO Max Adds Mind-Bending New Anime to Its Library

In the anime streaming wars, HBO Max has some ground to cover when it comes to hitting the same heights as Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, and other platforms. While Crunchyroll is clearly the prominent name in anime streaming, thanks to exclusively focusing on the medium, even other streaming services like Hulu and Netflix are creating exclusive anime content. To be fair, HBO Max has had its fair share of anime exclusives, with movies such as Your Name and the Studio Ghibli collection residing in its roster. Now, Warner Bros has taken one of its legendary animated franchises and recreated it as an anime that you can watch right now.

Tom And Jerry Gokko is an anime adaptation focusing on the titular characters as they are given an anime makeover for the first time. First debuting in Japan in 2022, the wild new take on the classic animated characters has released several episodes over the years, including many that have made their way to YouTube. Here’s how Warner Bros Japan describes the eye-popping series, “The speedy and humorous movements that make “Tom and Jerry” so appealing, as they chase each other and bicker with each other in every episode, are topped off with a touch of kawaii. The original Japanese character designs express a pop and cute worldview! The playful and somewhat lovable cat Tom, the cute-looking but cunning mouse Jerry, and the cute little mouse Tafi transform into adorable characters, even turning into their favorite foods, in this new series that’s sure to catch your eye!”

Warner Bros’ Anime Investment

This anime take on the classic cat and mouse series isn’t the only example of Warner Bros investing in the anime game. Last year, the Suicide Squad Isekai saw the WB teaming up with Wit Studio (Attack on Titan, Spy x Family, Ranking of Kings) to give some of DC’s most notable villains an anime makeover. While a second season has yet to be confirmed, and there has been no word that any other DC Comics character will receive their own anime, it once again goes to show that the WB recognizes the power of anime.

Last year, Warner Bros Discovery revealed that they were planning to invest far more heavily into the anime medium. Warner Bros’ President of the Asia-Pacific division even went so far as to say that the studio would produce ten series per year, “We have a Japanese anime studio, which has been producing five or ten anime series per year, over the last few years. We’ve approved expansion to take that to more than ten series per year.” With Warner Bros currently up for sale, it will be interesting to see how this affects their anime investment and whether the investment will grow larger as a result, or dwindle. Thanks to anime’s rising popularity, we have to imagine that it would be the former.

What do you think of this wild anime take on Warner Bros’ classic characters?Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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