RIYADH: A second promotional video for “Grendizer U”, which returns 40 years after the original anime series, reveals various regions of Saudi Arabia appear in the show. New designs for characters have also been unveiled and the broadcast date is planned for July. The video was launched on Riyadh-based Manga Productions’ YouTube channel in Arabic, English, French and Italian. It can also be viewed on the official “Grendizer U” social media accounts via @GrendizerAnime. Manga Productions’ CEO, Dr. Essam Bukhary, said: “We at Manga Productions, in collaboration with our partners in Japan, are pleased to introduce the character of Grendizer to future generations in a new and exciting way through the distribution and marketing of this work to global audiences. We hope for ‘Grendizer U’ in its new version to inspire the heroes of tomorrow worldwide.” A strategic partnership between Dynamic Planning, which owns the rights to Grendizer, and Manga Productions was announced in 2022. This led to the unveiling of the character’s statue in Riyadh. Standing more than 33 meters high, it was recorded by Guinness World Records as the largest metal statue of a fictional character in the world. The first teaser for the new series was launched at the Akiba Daisuki Festival in Tokyo in August 2023, with the initial promotional video following in December. Last year, Manga Productions also released the game “UFO Robot Grendizer: The Feast of the Wolves” in the Middle East and North Africa, in cooperation with French company Microids. The official English trailer on Manga Productions’ YouTube channel says the new series is based on Go Nagai’s “UFO Robo Grendizer.”  The second video features the staff of “Grendizer U,” including General Director Mitsuo Fukuda.