BBC Studios Kids & Family develops new anime-inspired series with Blink Industries

Blink Industries’ Children vs Battle SuperStars

ANNECY: BBC Studios Kids & Family is developing a new anime-inspired series for 8-12s as part of its first-look deal with Blink Industries.

Children vs Battle SuperStars (working title) is a 22×22′ kids’ martial arts tournament set in a fantastical modern world and will be unveiled at this week’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

It was created by animation duo Remus Buznea and Kyriaki ‘Kiki’ Kyriakou who are behind hits like Adult Swim’s Rick & Morty and Primal Bumpers, Ted Ed’s History of Chess and the award-winning short Dateless.

Remus and Kiki said in a statement: “The idea for the series was initially sparked by our constant defeats in online fighting game matches at the hands of children and the tremendous turmoil this no-win scenario brought about. Through a ‘tournament’ narrative we wanted to explore the competitive spirit and humorously deconstruct the tropes of the martial arts genre.”

Grainne McNamara, VP development live action and animation at BBC Studios Kids & Family, said: “We are really excited to reveal more about the series to clients for the first time at Annecy. It is comedic and quirky, combining the ordinary with the bizarre, and has the most brilliant characters – from the central trio of friends battling the SuperStars to a mystery fighter, which no tournament would be complete without.”

The project is the first to come out of the two-year first-look deal that BBC Studios Kids & Family struck last year with Blink Industries, which will produce the series.