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Maka-Maka/Colorful's Kishi Makes Manga for Nissan, UK Mag

Manga creator Torajirou Kishi (Colorful, Maka-Maka) is drawing a new series titled Hiyaku in the British magazine Monocle for a product placement deal with the car maker Nissan. The manga focuses on a businessman named Alessandro who is on a quest for a simpler life (and happens to drive the Nissan Leaf electric car).

The first part of Hiyaku is a bound insert inside Monocle's November issue, and the series will run monthly until next March. Each issue will also have a two-page promotional article about the research and development of the manga. Monocle had published another manga, Takanori Yasaka's Kita Koga, starting with the magazine's inaugural issue in 2007. That manga included product placements for brands such as Prada and American Express.

Media Blasters published Kishi's all-color yuri manga Maka-Maka in North America in 2008. Kishi created Devil, a joint project with the anime Studio Madhouse, for Dark Horse Comics this year.

Nissan has utilized anime and manga in past advertising campaigns, including product placements in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex film, 2007's Gundam-inspired redesign of the GT-R Coupe, and Shōji Kawamori's powered suit ad campaign for the Nissan Dualis.

Source: Campaign