Kickstarter is a fascinating tool.

While recently the videogames industry has picked up on the benefits of the crowd funding website, KS has been around for a little while now and has seen all types of projects come and go. Perhaps the most interesting use of the site has been for funding releases of old manga. Digital Manga Publishing has been at the forefront of this, having used KS to do a reprint of Osamu Tezuka's Swallowing the Earth, as well as funding the release of Tezuka's Barbara. These are titles that unfortunately struggle to find the kind of mainstream success a Naruto or a Bleach does, so I'm more than willing to put my money behind getting high quality releases. 

Well DMP is at it again with another Tezuka manga, called Unico. A lighter affair than the previous two releases, Unico is the story of a small, adorable unicorn that has the power to help the people who love him. From how it's described, the tale is apparently a take on Greece Mythology, specifically the story of Psyche. Unlike most manga releases here in Japan, Unico was originally published to be read from left to right. Additionally, the initial release was in full color, making this something of an expensive project to work on I'd imagine.

Fortunately DMP is up for the challenge and plans to release the entire series in one volume in full color. If you take a look at some of the samples on the KS page, the quality looks fantastic and I'm more than willing to throw the $35 dollars down for a classic. I think these kinds of projects are really good for the industry, giving publishers a chance to take risks on titles that deserve your attention but get overshadowed by the bigger, more profitable series.

Check out the Kickstarter page here and make sure to watch the video; the folks from Digital Manga Publishing do a good job of running down why you should care about Unico.