Line Digital Frontier, which operates the Japanese-language service of Naver Webtoon, said on the 30th that it will unveil the first webtoon from its in-house production studio, Studio White, next month.
Studio White was jointly established with Kadokawa, a Japanese comprehensive entertainment corporations, and Korea's Redice Studio, which created hit webtoons including "Omniscient Reader" and Solo Leveling, to produce verified popular Japanese IP (intellectual property) as mobile-optimized webtoons.
Studio White's first work is a spinoff webtoon of "Record of Lodoss War," regarded as the progenitor of Japanese fantasy. "Record of Lodoss War" follows the protagonist's growth into the "Knight of Lodoss" on the cursed island of Lodoss. It was also produced as animation and games, gaining worldwide popularity. The spinoff webtoon will first be released on Naver Webtoon on May 9 and then rolled out to the global market. Through Naver Webtoon's global platforms, including "Line Manga," the webtoon will reach 160 million readers worldwide.
In addition, Studio White plans to sequentially unveil spinoff webtoons of Kadokawa's popular light novels "Sword Art Online" and "Slayers," as well as a webtoon version of "The Familiar of Zero."
Mizuno Ryo, the author of "Record of Lodoss War," said, "I feel deeply moved that, more than 30 years after the original was born, it is meeting a new development as a webtoon," and added, "I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what kind of dynamic battles will unfold through the webtoon's unique vertical scroll direction."
Kim Shin-bae, chief business officer (CBO) of Line Digital Frontier, said, "By collaborating with industry leaders Kadokawa and Redice Studio, we will present to readers around the world a work optimized for webtoons—featuring lavish color depiction and thrilling action—while respecting the identity of the legendary original."
Yamashita Naohisa, a Kadokawa director and executive officer, said, "We hope that the three companies will continue to collaborate to consistently bring our excellent IP to the global market."