Promotional image for RAREON’s officially licensed GO ASTRO BOY GO! TCG project. © Tezuka Productions.
- Expanding beyond sports into global animation and cultural IP
- Limited-edition TCG collection planned based on GO ASTRO BOY GO!, an animated series created to commemorate Astro Boy’s 50th anniversary
RAREON, the TCG platform of PUNKVISM, a developer of Web3 and real-world asset (RWA) ecosystems, has signed an official licensing agreement for GO ASTRO BOY GO!, the Tezuka Productions animated series based on the iconic Japanese character Astro Boy. Known in South Korea as Little Atom, the series will serve as the basis for RAREON’s planned TCG and collectible card products.
GO ASTRO BOY GO! is an animated series produced by Tezuka Productions to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Astro Boy’s creation, based on the classic manga created by Osamu Tezuka in the 1950s. The original manga began serialization in 1952, followed in 1963 by Japan’s first half-hour television animation series. Broadcast in the United States, China, Europe and other markets, Astro Boy has built a following spanning generations.
GO ASTRO BOY GO! preserves the spirit of the original while reimagining its adventures for young children. In place of the classic hero’s battles against villains, Astro Boy teams up with Astro Kitty, an AI-powered robot cat, and Suzu, a brilliant young girl, to tackle environmental challenges and problems involving natural phenomena around the world. He uses his superpowers to protect people and nature. Carrying forward Tezuka’s themes of coexistence with all living things and care for others and the natural world, the series combines education and entertainment to encourage cooperation, curiosity and problem-solving.
GO ASTRO BOY GO! has also demonstrated its commercial appeal in China. The IP was the centerpiece of the December 2020 opening campaign for Ningbo InCity shopping center, which recorded more than 396,000 visitors and over 70,000 membership registrations during its first three days. The campaign extended across the city through pop-up stores, large-scale installations, and subway and bus advertising. In Japan, characters from the series also feature in Astro Coding Go!, a coding education platform.
Under the agreement, RAREON will plan, produce, and distribute a collectible TCG lineup based on the official GO ASTRO BOY GO! license. The project will incorporate Astro Boy’s history and fictional world, key characters including Astro Boy, Astro Kitty and Suzu, and a range of artwork. Its focus is on going beyond conventional character merchandise to create cards that collectors will want to own.
RAREON has been building a collecting culture that connects sports and TCG through official collectible cards featuring Brazilian football legends Roberto Carlos and Edmílson, alongside South Korean sporting icons Hur Jae, Hyun Jung-hwa and Lee Yong Dae. With the GO ASTRO BOY GO! licensing agreement, PUNKVISM plans to expand its sports-focused IP portfolio into animation, character IP and cultural content.
“Astro Boy is an iconic character loved around the world across generations, and GO ASTRO BOY GO! brings that spirit to today’s children and collectors,” said Hyunki Hwang, CEO of RAREON. “We see a strong fit with the PUNKVISM ecosystem and the collecting culture RAREON is building. Our goal is to do more than put characters on cards. We want to bring Astro Boy’s distinctive history, stories and artwork together in a collection that collectors will want to own.”
Building on the GO ASTRO BOY GO! project, RAREON plans to secure additional major global IP licenses and further expand its IP licensing and collectibles business.
