Specialized
journalist Tadashi Sudo confirmed that the French production
and distribution company Mangouste Anim has acquired the
rights to develop a new animated work based on Space Adventure Cobra,
the mythical manga and anime created by Buichi Terasawa. The news
was revealed on Friday, May 31 during the prestigious Annecy
International Animation Film Festival and Market, one of the most important
events in the sector.
A young
studio with galactic ambitions
Mangouste
Anim, based in
Paris and founded in 2020, has positioned itself as an emerging production
company on the European scene. One of its recent achievements was the
distribution of the Grendizer U anime in French
territory, which premiered in July 2024. His interest in iconic
works of anime now expands with Cobra, a science fiction franchise
that marked an entire generation.
A
time-defying classic
Buichi
Terasawa published
the original Cobra manga in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine
between 1978 and 1984. The story follows Cobra, an
enigmatic space adventurer with an arm that can transform into a gun, who is
constantly on the run from bounty hunters and criminal organizations. Its
combination of action, science fiction and pulp style gave it a cult status.
The
franchise was adapted in 1982 into a 31-episode television
series and a film released three months earlier, in July 1982.
Terasawa later continued the story with Cobra: Over the Rainbow,
published in November 2019 on Kadokawa's Comic
Walker and Nico Nico Manga platforms. Sadly, the
author passed away in September 2023.
As for its
international distribution, Nozomi Entertainment released the
classic series on DVD, after streaming it on its YouTube channel and Crunchyroll,
until the rights expired. For its part, Discotek Media has
released both the series and the film on Blu-ray, including a 4K
UHD version in 2019. Currently, RetroCrush offers the
anime in its catalog since 2023.
A new
video game is also coming
Cobra's return won't be limited to
animation. French studio Microids will release the video
game Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening, a side-scrolling
title developed by Magic Pockets. The game will be available
on August 26, 2024 for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One,
Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, Epic
Games Store, and GOG.com. Without a doubt, Cobra continues
to prove that its universe full of action and space mystery has a lot to offer
new generations of fans.
