Trading card giant The Topps Company has signed on as a production partner for the animated entertainment project Monsuno.  Created by the Japanese advertising giant Dentsu and the American toy company Jakks Pacific (see “Jakks Dentsu Co-Production”), Monsuno is a multi-media entertainment property that targets boys from 6-11.

The bedrock basis of the property is a 52-episode anime series, which will likely debut in the U.S. in the fall of 2011 or the spring of 2012.  Topps, which is owned by Michael Eisner’s Tornante investment company, is investing in the production of the Monsuno anime series and will also be a licensee and partner on trading card games, confectionaries, and related products.

The plot of the 52-episode Monsuno anime series revolves around a group of kids who are imbued with the power to command and fight with creatures with amazing destructive potential.  The kids use these monsters to protect the Earth against those who would tear it apart.  The large number of different types of monsters with different powers and the kind of combat in the anime series lend themselves to adaptation as a trading card game and will also provide plenty of fodder for the creation of an extensive toy line.

Jakks Pacific is the primary owner of the Monsuno intellectual property and will be the master licensee for the Monsuno toy line, which will hit retail in conjunction with the launch of the Monsuno TV series.  Jakks, Dentsu, and distributor Fremantle Media are pitching the Monsuno anime series at MIPCOM this week.