Here's some interesting toy and television news. Jakks Pacific, former makers of WWE toys and current home of UFC and TNA Wrestling toys, have signed on to make a new Anime cartoon and toyline. The interesting part here isn't that they're licensing toys, but that they're actually creating the toyline and cartoon. Along the same lines as Hasbro creating GI Joe, Transformers and Mattel creating Masters of the Universe.


This marks the first time that Jakks has made such a move and it's a pretty bold one to make. However it shows that Jakks continues to make a grab at becoming a real powerhouse in the toy industry and hasn't missed a beat since losing the WWE license.

Toymaker Jakks Pacific has teamed with Japanese animation company Dentsu to create an anime television show and corresponding line of toys.

"Monsuno" targets boys 6-11 and is an original property about a group of adventurous youngsters who find themselves in possession of "reawakened" DNA from a monster.

The show and toys are expected to launch simultaneously next year, though a television broadcast partner hasn't yet signed.

Jakks and Dentsu have hired Mitsuharu Inoue to serve as creative director. Inoue produces "Bakugan Battle Brawlers," an anime series on Cartoon Network based on one of the most popular toy lines in North America.

This might be one to watch out for. Could this be the GI Joe, MOTU or Transformers of a new era? I wouldn't be surprised. Creating an in house property is very smart and it's one more toy companies should pursue. We'll have to see how it plays out, but the premise seems interesting.