Sheffield-based Reemsborko is the new UK licensing agent for the Naruto franchise, one of the world’s most popular manga and anime properties.

In a deal with Japan’s TV Tokyo, Reemsborko will represent Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto for licensing and merch deals in the region. Reemsborko specializes in the category, representing a number of anime series across multiple demos, including the preschool-skewing Bananya and older-skewing IPs Dragon Ball, Bleach and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures.

Japan’s Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo produce Naruto and its spinoffs, which follow young ninjas as they train and fight their enemies. The IP is wildly successful, with its manga having sold more than 220 million copies worldwide and its TV series airing on major outlets internationally.

Naruto (220 episodes) first premiered in Japan in 2002 before broadcasters such as Disney XD and Cartoon Network picked it up to air internationally. UK broadcaster Jetix acquired the series in 2006. Naruto Shippuden, which premiered in 2007, is a sequel to Naruto that has 500 episodes. Boruto (285 episodes) is another sequel, which premiered in 2017.

The IP also made headlines this week with several announcements at fan event Jump Festa. In addition to a new spinoff and live musical that are in the works, the manga’s publisher announced a “global character popularity poll” recruiting fans to vote for their favourite character (of over 400). The winning character will get their own short dedicated manga by series creator Masashi Kishimoti.

Read more on the popularity of anime and the opportunities that surround it in Kidscreen’s latest issue here.