Malaysian animated Muslim-friendly travel series 'Fly With Yaya Tohoku', produced by Monsta Animation Studio, has been nominated in the Newcomer Award category at the 2020 Licensing International Excellence Awards in the United States.

Yay!

Beating out 600 entries

Monsta, the same studio who created the 'BoBoiBoy' franchise, said the nomination was a big milestone for the company.

“Monsta spent almost two years building a strong brand for Yaya through the series in the effort to prove that a strong and confident Muslim girl can also appeal to an international audience,” said Monsta in a statement quoted by Malay Mail.

'Fly With Yaya Tohoku' - which tells the story of Yaya, a girl who travels around the world to explore beautiful sights in Muslim-friendly destinations - has been a big hit online, as the series has reportedly raked in more than 21 million views on the Monsta YouTube Network in just 13 months.

“We hope 'Fly With Yaya Tohoku'’s nomination in the Licensing International Excellence Awards will open up more opportunities for Monsta and Malaysian brands in general, as well as promoting Muslim-friendly travel destinations in the global market," Monsta further said in the statement.

‘Fly With Yaya Tohoku' competed with more than 600 entries from 22 countries to be nominated for the award, including entries from some of the biggest companies in the world such as The Coca-Cola Company, Puma, Shiseido, Mattel, Hasbro, Bandai, The Hershey Company and many more.

In 2019, the award was won by popular online video game 'Fortnite'.