Tubi has ordered Yokoso Scooby-Doo!, the first original anime series in the franchise’s 57-year history, produced by Warner Bros. Animation with production services from OLM in Japan — the studio behind Pokémon and Yo-Kai Watch — with Frank Welker and Matthew Lillard returning to voice Scooby-Doo and Shaggy respectively.
The title Yokoso translates from Japanese as “welcome,” and the series will air exclusively on Tubi in the United States and on Cartoon Network internationally. Itsuro Kawasaki directs, with Francisco Paredes serving as co-producer.
The plot drops Scooby and Shaggy into Japan on a foodie adventure, during which they accidentally unleash hundreds of mythical monsters across the country. They enlist help from Scooby’s uncle Daisuke-Doo, a magical girl named Yume, and a gadget expert named Takumi to chase down the chaos. The introduction of original Japanese characters signals a deliberate attempt to ground the series culturally rather than simply transplanting the familiar gang into a foreign backdrop.
Tubi’s Chief Content Officer Adam Lewinson positioned the series as a strategic franchise move. “By bringing Scooby and Shaggy into a bold anime world set in Japan, we’re connecting with global fandoms and delivering the kind of fun, chaotic mystery that travels across generations,” he said, describing it as “fan-first storytelling — familiar, surprising, and unmistakably Tubi.”
Sam Register, President of Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, added that the studio is “excited to partner on this next chapter” and push the franchise forward through “the dynamic artistry of anime.”
Both voice leads carry deep franchise roots. Welker has been part of the Scooby-Doo universe since the original 1969 series, initially voicing Fred Jones before taking over as Scooby-Doo himself from 2002 onwards. Lillard debuted as Shaggy in the 2002 live-action film and has voiced the character across animated projects ever since — a run that has made him the character’s defining modern interpreter. He also recently joined the cast of the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.
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The announcement lands as Scooby-Doo undergoes a broader expansion across platforms. Netflix is separately producing Scooby-Doo: Origins, a live-action series that began filming in April, charting how Mystery Inc. first came together. The simultaneous development of two distinct Scooby-Doo projects on competing platforms reflects the enduring commercial pull of a property that has sustained audience interest across more than five decades.
