Tokyo, 14 November, /AJMEDIA/
American animation that isn’t either produced by Disney or theatrical-feature is sort of a niche market in Japan, but there’s enough interest for Cartoon Network to have a Japanese division, which broadcasts a lot of the same for-kids series that they do in the U.S.
This month, though, Cartoon Network Japan is debuting a new series that’s made in Japan, featuring a cast of adorable animal characters who look like they could give Hello Kitty and her Sanrio pals a run for their money in the cuteness department. The series stars a cat and a mouse, and their names are Tom and Jerry.
Yes, that Tom and Jerry, as the classic American cartoon duo has been given new, kawaii character design remakes for their first ever made-in-Japan series.
Even the series’ title is getting a more Japanese-looking overhaul. Ordinarily, when Tom and Jerry is written in Japanese, both of their names are written in katakana, the type of Japanese text used to render foreign names and loanwords. For the new, cuter series, though, Tom and Jerry’s names are written in hiragana. Hiragana is usually used for Japanese names and words, but the script is also visually softer and cuter than the more angular katakana.
