The first-ever Filipino anime will hit the airwaves this October in GMA 7.
If Japan has "Slamdunk" and "Kuroko's Basketball," Pinoy Otakus will be cheering for the newest basketball-themed show, "Barangay 143."
Produced by the big names in animation, the show is a feel-good coming of age story of a young Korean boy whose search for his father brings him to the Philippines. Lost and desperate for answers, Bren is here in the foreign land where he finds an unlikely family whose sole ambition is to bring glory to their hometown.
Set against the backdrop of gritty Tondo, Bren will be on a journey of self-discovery tangled with a web of conflict in love and in the family.
The young boy, in the action-packed world of street basketball, will realize that life is the biggest game he can win.
“Barangay 143” will feature the voices of millennial idols Migo Adecer, Ruru Madrid, and Julie Ann San Jose. They are joined by veteran actors Cherie Gil, John Arcilla, Paolo Contis, and Sylvia Sanchez.
"GMA has always been known to support anything that champions Filipino talent and promotes our culture. We are immensely proud to be the network carrying the first Filipino anime drama series," said Joey Abacan, GMA first vice president of program management.
The anime series is co-produced by Synergy88, TV Asahi, and August Media Holdings.
“Philippines has a vibrant TV and film industry with a rich culture of storytelling,” said Jyotirmoy Saha, August Media Holdings chief executive officer.
During the show’s media launch, Saha promised Barangay 143 will be different from Japan’s animes previously aired in GMA since it has a unique Filipino identity and a drama people can easily relate with.
“Barangay 143 is about our lives. This is really made for the Filipino people and we dub it originally in Filipino,” echoed by Jackeline Chua, Synergy88’s managing editor and co-founder.
The series, which was produced in two years, can be enjoyed across three platforms. Aside from the TV show, a mobile game and a comic-book vis-à-vis the series were also launched last year.
The “Barangay 143 Street League” mobile game can be downloaded from the Google Play Store for Android and the iOS App Store.
The narrative within the mobile game leads to the suspense and mystery that drive the story for the upcoming TV series.
"We are producing a brand which is not only limited to anime series, but also about other things like mobile games, merchandise, and events," said Chua.
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