Online Media Distribution Leader to Stream North American Premiere of Japanese Live-Action Detective Franchise Source: BAM! Marketing, Publicity & Promotions press release, Dream Kid, Inc., various Official Site: Tantei5.com Special Thanks to Chase Wang
There have been many mystery heroes throughout its times. To name a few: Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Philip Marlowe. They are legends. Now from Japan come new heroes at ‘D’etective ‘O’ffice ‘5’. Located in the gritty underbelly of Tokyo’s neighboring Kawasaki City. DO5 has a rich 60-year history of crime solving and is the headquarters where 100 detectives are employed. They don’t go by names. Each is identified by a personal code: A 3-digit number beginning with the number 5: 500 to 599. They combine their unique skills with ‘7 tools of the trade’ to solve impossible crimes. Crunchyroll of San Francisco, CA and Dream Kid, Inc. of Tokyo, Japan have announced a partnership to premiere the Japanese live-action drama franchise DETECTIVE OFFICE 5 (Tantei Jimusho 5, ?????5) on Crunchyroll for North American audiences. More information can be found at www.crunchyroll.com. From Kaizo Hayashi, the creator of MAIKU HAMA: PRIVATE EYE (Maiku Hama, 1994), and one of the biggest successes in the Japanese IT industry, Hiroki Ohwada, DETECTIVE OFFICE 5 is a brand-new film-noir series with 50 drama-packed episodes and 2 feature films rich in imagery and ideas. Hayashi and Ohwada present cinematic dreamscapes that are dark and mysterious, at times sinister, and always seductive. Innocence and nobility swirl into this world with deadly precision, transporting viewers into a realm filled with danger, romance, and intrigue. The series stars Joe Shishido (FUGITIVE ALIEN, TOKYO: THE LAST MEGALOPOLIS), Shiro Sano (GODZILLA 2000, GMK), and Shuji Kashiwabara (LONG DREAM, THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN). "Crunchyroll is the perfect place for fans who want to `feed the need` for Japanese drama to uncover D-5," states Dream Kid, Inc. founder and DETECTIVE OFFICE 5 producer Hiroki Ohwada. "We are extremely excited about the opportunity to premiere the program to a North American audience and will continue our global licensing initiative."
"DETECTIVE OFFICE 5 is an important property to us," states Rob Pereyda, senior director and head of licensing at Crunchyroll. "By expanding our licensing portfolio and leading this new genre category with such an exciting piece of engaging, live-action Japanese drama, we are able to fulfill the needs of fans and continue our international licensing efforts." The program will launch today (December 23, 2008) at the official Crunchyroll D-5 community with feature videos, interactive chat, forums, photos, and more. A suite of virtual goods for Crunchyland, Crunchyroll`s browser-based MMO, will follow shortly after the launch to help sustain D-5`s awareness and promote it to Crunchyroll`s gaming fans.
About Dream Kid, Inc.
Dream Kid, Inc. was established in 2004. Hiroki Ohwada is the central member of this company and due to his prior experience in the IT business, he began producing both short and feature films for the Internet. Since 2005, he started the DETECTIVE OFFICE 5 project (100 short episodes, and some feature films) with director Kaizo Hayashi. The project has attracted a lot of attention in Japan and it has been also released in Taiwan, China, Korea and many other countries since 2007. Dream Kid introduced the DETECTIVE OFFICE 5 project at the Japan booth during AFM 2007 and EFM 2008.
About Crunchyroll
Headquartered in San Francisco, California Crunchyroll is hailed as a leading online entertainment brand with the largest international online community and destination focused on Asian entertainment including anime, drama, music in addition to electronic entertainment and auto content. Crunchyroll`s distribution channel and partnership program delivers content to over five million passionate fans worldwide. Crunchyroll is funded by the premiere group Venrock. More information can be found at its website www.crunchyroll.com.