KLab, a Japanese firm focusing on online gaming business, has acquired worldwide online game adaptation rights to the My Hero Academia anime series.
The news was announced earlier in November 2022, when KLab reached a deal with the My Hero Academia Production Committee. The forthcoming games based on the franchise will be available across the globe, excluding mainland China.
The latter isn’t discriminatory, mind you. Rather, one of KLab’s affiliated companies is KLab China Inc. headquartered in Shanghai. KLab China plans, develops, localizes, and markets mobile online games in China, exclusively.
Details regarding the upcoming My Hero Academia game (or games — it remains unspecified) were not detailed during the announcement, but KLab did specify it would report on the developments as necessary.
KLab has a proven track record of a number of online game adaptations of popular anime series. Some of their previous titles include Bleach: Brave Souls, BLEACH Soul Rising, Utano☆Princesama Shining Live, Love Live! School Idol Festival, YU☆YU☆HAKUSHO 100% Maji Battle, and Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team.
The company’s headquarters are in Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo. KLab has three additional offices across Japan: one in Sendai (Nagamachi, Taihaku-ku), one in Osaka (Nakanoshima, Kita-ku), and one in Fukuoka (Nagahama, Chuo-ku).
As of September 2022, KLab employs 553 people and is affiliated with GlobalGear Co. Ltd. and BLOCKSMITH & Co., in addition to the abovementioned KLab China Inc.
GlobalGear Co. Ltd. is a subsidiary that plans, develops, and operates mobile applications centered on casual games, whereas BLOCKSMITH & Co. oversees Web3-related operations including the development, provision, and operation of GameFi and the issuance and sales of NFTs.
About the My Hero Academia franchise
The My Hero Academia anime series is presently up to Season 6, which premiered on October 1, 2022, the Fall 2022 anime season.
Crunchyroll and Ani-One Asia are simulcasting the series, each in their respective regions covered.
The My Hero Academia Season 6 was first announced in September 2021 following the broadcast of the fifth season’s final episode. The first trailer PV was revealed in December 2021 and the second — ahead of Anime Expo 2022, in June 2022.
The anime is based on the eponymous manga series (僕のヒーローアカデミア, Boku no Hero Academia) by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 2014, with the individual chapters having been collected into 36 tankōbon volumes as of October 4, 2022.
The plot centers on Izuku Midoriya, a boy born into a superhero world without any special abilities. All the same, Izuku dreams of becoming a superhero and soon lucks out upon meeting the strongest superhero All Might. Izuku goes on to enroll in a prestigious high school for superheroes-to-be and the rest is history.
Boku no Hero Academia has evolved into a full-blown media franchise over time, spanning multiple spin-off manga series, light novels, stage plays, video, games, and merchandise.