MUMBAI: India's Toonz Media group and Japan's 1st Place have sketched out a strategic partnership on the fringes of Hong Kong Filmart, aiming to quench the world's thirst for anime content while addressing Japan's creative talent crunch.

The tie-up comes as streaming giants, gaming moguls and entertainment behemoths scramble for fresh anime fodder, leaving Japan's traditional animation houses gasping for artistic air.

"There is already a significant talent shortage in Japan for anime production," admitted 1st Place founder and president Kumiko, without a hint of artistic licence. "This strategic partnership with Toonz will help us bridge that gap by expanding our production capacity."

The artistic marriage melds Toonz's 25-year animation pedigree and production muscle with 1st Place's flair for anime storytelling, music production and 3D computer-generated wizardry.

"At Toonz, we continuously seek new creative frontiers," expounded Toonz Media group CEO P. Jayakumar, whose past dalliances include teaming up with Marvel on Wolverine and the X-Men and with Lionsgate on Speed Racer: The Next Generation.

The Indian animation outfit views the partnership as a chance to colour itself into the booming anime picture, while Tokyo-based 1st Place brings 20 years of developing original intellectual property to the drawing board. The Japanese firm has previously orchestrated theme songs and soundtracks for anime tearjerker Clannad After Story and supernatural romp Angel Beats!

Both firms hope their cross-continental coupling will create a sustainable anime ecosystem capable of delivering eye-popping content to worldwide audiences without succumbing to the industry's capacity constraints—a picture-perfect solution to a most animated problem.