Freq

What is FREQ?

FREQ, short for Frequency, fuses electronic music subcultures with sci-fi manga storytelling into a seinen manga series. Created by Nicola Kazimir and written by legendary Dai Sato, chief/script writer for Ergo Proxy, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex among others, ensures this manga will be led by one of the very best and most inspirational storytellers. The visual arts are by Good News for Bad Guys, an illustrator equipped with unique artistic skills and in-depth knowledge in the manga/anime universe. FREQ is a seinen manga - which means the target audience are adults - as the manga features a deep story/lore feat. complex political issues, gore and nudity. The setting of Freq's lore unfolds in a futuristic realm where the influence of sound frequencies governs all aspects of life. In this world, everything from traffic, AR visuals, electricity to warfare and of course music is orchestrated through the manipulation/extraction of sound frequencies. The narrative unfolds within the sprawling expanse of Rephlex, a vast city featuring diverse districts, factions, and social classes. FREQ's lore is based on the history of electronic music, featuring characters, weapons, equipment, locations, events and a general reference system that mirrors our real-life counterparts (for example, the character Kith is modeled after Keith Flint from the band "The Prodigy"). Given FREQ's deep integration with electronic music, we also launched FREQ Records, which releases electronic music in both vinyl and digital formats. Our diverse release schedule includes works from one of the founders of techno, Eddie Flashin Fowkles, Japanese maestro Ken Ishii, and contemporary favorite Machine Girl.

Where is the story set?

The manga "FREQ" spans 13 chapters in its first season, each chapter ranging from 30 to 40 pages. It centers around Akai, the main character who leaves the suburban areas of Djax due to a severe violation of the stringent regulations imposed by the government of Rephlex—a city where work, financial systems, and life itself are heavily regulated through control and rating systems, along with the corporate monopoly on the Frequency extraction process. Akai finds refuge among the Electribe, a nomadic, rebellious faction that champions alternative societal values. As the story unfolds, the Electribe is progressively compelled to infiltrate the city and confront its rulers, who are intent on forcefully quashing any dissenting voices. This uprising is spearheaded by the Electribe's leader, Dr. Ray, with the support of the main character, Akai, and his friend, Octa.

Tell us more about Volume #0 which is featured in our first Kickstarter

The campaign is set to commence in early April and will extend for slightly over a month. Numerous collaborations and record label releases are slated to be unveiled throughout this period. The success of the Kickstarter campaign is integral to the production, manga scale, and the entire voting process. A 80-page Teaser #0 will be provided to our backers a few months after the Kickstarter, which will be utilized in correspondence with distributors. A significant portion of the Kickstarter funds will be allocated towards developing the initial 120-page manga booklet. In our initial Kickstarter campaign, we aim to fund the labor and production costs of our Teaser #0 A4 booklet (EN/JP Versions). This booklet contains a pivotal chapter from the midpoint of Season 1 - the infamous club scene, packed with numerous references that reveal the essence of Freq. It serves as an ideal launchpad to explore distribution opportunities and spark interest for more content. In an effort to evade the vigilant eyes of Rephlex Corporate City's surveillance in its city district Apollo, our protagonist, Akai, adopts a different appearance and employs frequency transplants, a tactic to remain undetected. This marks his initial venture into this territory as a member of the Electribe. His mission is to locate and extract a specific frequency signal from a club console, which is believed to lead to the whereabouts of Dr. Hanon Kins, the illustrious founder of FREQ technology. However, his focus wavers when he unexpectedly encounters his childhood friend, Aira, at the club. This emotional shift does not go unnoticed by the city's AI surveillance system, which then marks him as a potential threat. This suspicion triggers a confrontation with the authorities, led by Kith, a police officer who happens to be enjoying his time as a guest at the club. As Akai manages to gain the upper hand in the skirmish against Kith, the situation takes another turn with the sudden arrival of an unforeseen individual.

If over 100’000 are reached what will happen with the manga?

We will implement a user-interface on our homepage/discord and add a community participative aspect to the manga - we call it a creative share. A creative share is a subscription based model paid monthly/yearly via your user interface on our website which gives these possibilities:

influence the lore by being able to propose reference characters/equipment via a proposal and voting system (writers will base the final drafts on those votings with creative freedom to ensure a coherent plot/look).
exclusive access to brainstorm with the FREQ core team in private Discord channels
gives you access to FREQ web content housing curated music releases, manga chapters, mixes, podcasts, merchandise and more

How will voting cycles look?

The character and equipment votings will follow a time-window-based system, transitioning from Discord discussions to the website. The initial proposal, limited to 100 per decision, will undergo scrutiny by a jury comprising two community members and the project team. The top 10 selections will then move to a Discord voting stage, with the three most voted choices being presented on the website (incl.. a unique illustration drawn by goodnewsforbadyguys) for the final decision.

For community involvement, a community cut will be implemented. Story arcs, including considerations of geography and timeline axis, will be collaboratively discussed on Discord. The proposed story arc positioning will subsequently be presented on the website for further consideration and approval.

What’s the vision/long term target/aim/goal?

Our Vision is to take this decentral manga universe to the mainstream! The plot will firstly manifest in a physical manga-series.The success of the series will enable us to engage further steps in creating a strategy to pitch FREQ to big broadcasting studios with the help of the teams strong connections, bringing the manga series to a broader audience as an anime series! As we said, we really want to build a lore that can be explored as a franchise - the manga is an ideal entry point and will expand to different mediums from there. We know the trans-media potential of sound as the source of the lore. On one hand it allows us to manifest the franchise in the music world as well - curate music releases, collaborate with great artists, release records, give factions the soundtrack they deserve and have a 24/7 radio-player on our page.

ROADMAP

115 BPM SCRIPTING PROCESS, PANELING PROCESS TEASER CONCEPT DESIGNS, MIXES + PODCASTS
123 BPM WEBSITE & KICKSTARTER LAUNCH – Q2 2024
144 BPM FIRST MUSIC RELEASES, –Q2 2024
188 BPM RELEASE MANGA CHAPTER 0 - Q4 2024
210 BPM RELEASE OF CHAPTER 1