Source: Winckler-Oya Inc. Official Website: Manga 2.5 Special Thanks to William Winckler
Winckler-Oya Inc. is producing the English soundtracks for all new Japanese motion mangas based on KARASUMA KYOKO NO JIKENBO, THE MYTHICAL DETECTIVE LOKI, and OTOGI SOUSHI. J.F.Oya and William Winckler are producing and writing the shows. William Winckler is directing the voice actors. KARASUMA KYOKO NO JIKENBO is kind of a Japanese X-FILES, about a young female police detective, Kyoko Karasuma, who investigates bizarre murders in Tokyo, only to discover they are caused by Yokai monsters, the "Oni." THE MYTHICAL DETECTIVE LOKI is about a young boy who runs his own detective agency, but in reality he`s a Norse God in disguise, out to stop monsters in Japan. This manga property was previously a successful anime series as well. OTOGI SOUSHI is a Japanese period piece about the son of a warrior god who is trained by yokai monsters, as he experiences trials and tribulations, he develops amazing magical powers. The three motion comics are part of the Manga 2.5 "brand," and are being released on iTunes. The first two series, KARASUMA KYOKO NO JIKENBO and THE MYTHICAL DETECTIVE LOKI, are available now. To our knowledge, this is the first time ever that English scripts were written based on manga, with dialog tracks recorded first in Hollywood, and then sent to Japan, where the animation for the motion comics was created/produced according to the American soundtracks. This is a complete reversal of normal dubbing for anime or motion comics. With no animation to work from, the American voice talent had to review specific manga/comic book panels, study dialog, and take careful direction, in order to achieve the exact dramatic recordings for scenes that would ultimately become animated motion comics later. KARASUMA KYOKO NO JIKENBO
Tokio. Near future. Asakusa is a district where old meets new. Kyoko Karasuma is a young security officer with near-superhuman speed and prowess working for the special division of the district’s police department. As she and her partner, Raymond Kumano, follow leads in their investigation of cases involving paranormal phenomena and apparitions of supernatural beings, the presence of a breed known as the “Oni” clan starts to unveil. They work to get to the bottom of an alleged secret pact between the humans and the Oni but instead, they face resistance from their own colleagues in the department. Meanwhile, during an operation, Kyoko encounters an Oni Clan boy named Uchida who asks her an enigmatic question about her own identity... THE MYTHICAL DETECTIVE LOKI
Private Investigator Loki, the Norse god of mischief, has been exiled to the human world by the god Odin for reasons that he doesn`t understand. Along with being exiled, Loki is forced to take the form of a human child, and the only way he can return to the realm of the gods is by collecting the evil auras which take over human hearts. In order to do this, he starts a detective agency which specializes in the paranormal. While his boyish good looks disguise his true nature, no challenge is too tough for Loki. He digs up evidence surrounding kidnappings, murders, suicide, and the like. Not only is it Loki’s job to solve mysteries, but he must also protect his own interest, namely his family, especially when those who want him rubbed-out enter the picture. When old adversaries strike too close to home, Loki must prepare, not only to solve the crime, but to survive the vicious attacks. If the action’s hot, you can count on Loki being there. Loki is assisted by his loyal companion Yamino and the pair are soon joined by a human girl named Mayura who is manic for mysteries and often unwittingly assists him in catching the auras. As time passes, however, soon other Norse gods begin to appear, and most have the intent to assassinate Loki for reasons unclear.
About Winckler-Oya Inc.
Winckler-Oya Inc., is the company behind the English language productions of the Toei movie classics GAIKING, DANGUARD ACE, CAPTAIN HARLOCK, FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, STARZINGER, LUN LUN THE FLOWER GIRL, NADJA, GE GE GE NO KITARO. They also produced the Bandai /Toei pilots for DIGIMON FUSION BATTLES and PRETTY CURE FIVE. J.F. Oya bio Early in his career, J.F. Oya distributed internationally some of the most popular anime programs of the late 1980’s to early 1990’s with the Kitty label, including URUSEI YATSURA, MAISON IKKOKU, RANMA 1/2, LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES (all of which were the biggest anime hits at the time in Japan) among many others.
In the late 1980`s, he became the point-man for the Japanese studio projects with Marvel Productions, starting with the handling of Marvel Comics and George Lucas` live action movie version of HOWARD THE DUCK’s merchandise. In spite of being considered a "bomb" in the U.S., HOWARD THE DUCK became a huge hit in Japan, both critically and at the box office. Among other manga titles, Oya introduced the sci-fi/cyberpunk manga AKIRA to Marvel, which became Japanese manga`s earliest and biggest hit title in America, along with the anime version, which is considered by anime fans the world over as a genuine classic. Oya also developed several international film and animation projects most notably with the former Marvel Productions president, Lee Gunther (the producer of the TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE) and DIC Entertainment. His collaboration with Lee Gunther became THE ADVENTURES OF T-REX, a 52-episode animated series which was distributed in syndication in North America and widely distributed in Europe along with a successful merchandising campaign. Oya created CDJapan, an online retailer that specialized in selling Japanese anime, manga, and J-pop merchandise overseas. Through CDJapan, Oya sold more anime and manga merchandise than anyone else ever did directly from Japan. CDJapan`s annual gross revenue from anime, manga, and movie-related merchandise was approx. $58 million dollars in 2004, when Oya was managing it. Oya also worked in the music business in Japan for the Kitty Group, handling famous rock artists and Japanese A-list actors, as well as working with such international musical legends as Carlos Santana, Sly & Robbie, Stevie Wonder among many others. Oya was also involved in the production of numbers of domestic blockbuster films most of which were produced by the label. Oya executive produced around two dozen full-length anime feature films so far with his business partner William Winckler, along with multiple anime and live action pilots and series, most notably for Toei Animation among other Japanese studios. He currently lives in Tokyo, Japan, but has traveled the world, and in his youth, lived in Europe and the U.K., as well as Japan. He speaks perfect English, Japanese, Spanish and other languages. He is co-owner of Winckler-Oya Inc., a film, TV and anime production/distribution company. William Winckler bio Writer/producer/director William Winckler comes from a show-business background. His late father, Robert Winkler--aka "Bobby" Winkler--was a famous child actor during the Golden Age of Hollywood. As an adult, Robert Winckler became a successful entertainment attorney. William followed in his father`s footsteps, but in a slightly different path.
William studied acting and directing at UCLA with the late Don Richardson, director/teacher to Anne Bancroft, Grace Kelly, Zero Mostel, John Cassavetes, Elizabeth Montgomery and countless other stars. He learned a great deal from Don, and applied it to his acting and directing career. From the mid to the late 1980s, William worked as an actor in various TV series, films and theater. He then wrote and produced two syndicated series of his own, the first being the English version of Tatsunoko Production Company’s sci-fi series TEKKAMAN THE SPACE KNIGHT (1984). Winckler developed a close working relationship with Tatsunoko and its president the late Kenji Yoshida. In the mid ‘80’s TEKKAMAN was syndicated on mainstream television throughout the U.S., in markets including Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Atlanta, Honolulu, in Toronto (Canada), etc., reaching over 10 million kid viewers (the equivalent of today’s major network TV audience – ABC, NBC, CBS – for hit series). Over 75,000 TEKKAMAN VHS videos were sold to major retailers at the time as well. Winckler was the youngest producer of an English-language anime series in mainstream syndicated TV in 1984. He wrote and produced TEKKAMAN THE SPACE KNIGHT (1984) when he was 20 years old. Since then he has written, produced, directed and provided voices for countless hours of English-language anime. Winckler worked with Ike Ashida, of Shinwa Corporation in Japan, in the early 1980`s. Mr. Ashida was the Japanese agent for Hasbro and Milton Bradley in Japan, and the man responsible for introducing the Takara DiaClone toys to Hasbro, which ultimately became The Transformers. In the 1980’s, Winckler made English language test pilots for Toei’s MICROID S, retitled THE MICRO-AGENTS. A presentation at the time was also made for the anime classic ZERO TESTER. He was offered to make English pilots for KEN THE GREAT BEAR FIST aka FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, but found the gruesome violence impossible to sell in the mid ‘80’s on American television. When the internet boom hit, William was head of development for a science-fiction entertainment company, Galaxy Online, developing star-driven feature films and shorts for internet webcast and DVD. Winckler formed William Winckler Productions Inc., in 2001 to write, produce and direct feature films in the sci-fi, fantasy, horror and adventure genres. His silly action comedy, THE DOUBLE-D AVENGER (2001) has been a great creative and financial success for him, being a top cult movie best seller in America, and internationally in France and French-speaking Europe, in Japan, and many other countries. His retro monster movie / creature feature FRANKENSTEIN VS. THE CREATURE FROM BLOOD COVE (2005) has also been a big, award winning success. William began his business association with J.F. Oya in 2002, and the Winckler-Oya Inc. partnership has continued with great success over the past 11 years. Winckler-Oya Inc. has produced English language Japanese live-action films as well, including Capcom’s zombie horror film ZOMBREX DEAD RISING SUN (2010). Directed by Keiji Inafune, Winckler-Oya’s English dub of ZOMBREX (based on the DEAD RISING video game) has been seen by millions worldwide. A live-action presentation pilot was also made by Winckler-Oya for Toei Animation, loosely based on the anime series STARZINGER, titled GALAXY WEST, which attracted great interest from American cable TV Networks.