Companies Yanoman and Japan Art Media have kicked off a Campfire crowdfunding drive to bring back the JRPG series Aretha — yes, the one tied to Aretha Franklin — and the campaign runs until August 31.
The project tiers unlock additional Aretha-themed work as funding milestones are hit:
- Upon reaching 1 million yen, a new manga booklet with original illustrations by the manga artist Yoshito Asari will be produced and published.
- Upon reaching 10 million yen (62,000 USD), puzzles plus an official artbook are slated for release.
- Upon reaching 30 million yen (185,000 USD), ports of the first three games (Aretha, Aretha II, and Aretha III) are planned for Nintendo Switch (other platforms under consideration). The tentative name is "Aretha Collection 1990–1992" — not to be mixed up with the forthcoming "Aretha Collection 1993–1995," which is due July 30 for Switch and PS4/5.
- Upon reaching 50 million yen, a new OVA and a drama CD will be created.
- Upon reaching 80 million yen, an anime series is planned for YouTube and the Aretha World Core web page will go live.
- If the campaign hits the ultimate goal of 100 million yen, a brand-new Aretha game for modern platforms will be developed.
The series’ main storyline is largely in place, but deliberate gaps remain; fans will help fill some of them. In-game lore and fan-made entries will be collected on the official Aretha World Core site. Backers at specific support levels can submit content (i.e., contribute text, art, etc.), and those contributors’ names will be listed publicly.
Yanoman and JAM aren’t strangers to Aretha-related work. Besides the "Aretha Collection 1993–1995," they’re organizing an orchestral concert and preparing merchandise — prints, soundtrack releases, and similar items — under the Aretha Reunion Project ~I Want to Meet You Again~. Those earlier efforts did reasonably well; as a result, this crowdfunding is structured so sponsors should receive their full rewards even if the top target isn’t reached.