VIZ MEDIA MANGA ACQUISITIONS SLATED FOR RELEASE THE SECOND HALF OF 2011
Eagerly Anticipated New Titles Include Kids Favorites, Stirring Sci-Fi Action, Shojo Fantasy Drama, And Works By Natsume Ono And The Celebrated CLAMP Manga Creative Team
San Francisco, CA, March 3, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has detailed a variety of notable new manga (graphic novel) acquisitions for the second half of 2011.
Scheduled for release in coming months, perfect for kids’ summertime fun, are a pair of new POKÉMON™ titles including a Travel Activity Kit and the debut of the POKÉMON BLACK & WHITE manga series. The highly anticipated cute and quirky bean dogs of MAMESHIBA will also debut in their own manga and in a character guide. Other titles aimed at Teen and Older Teen readers will feature the high-speed action of YU-GI-Oh! 5D’s in an innovative new original story, the tense mystery drama PSYREN, a remastered 3-in-1 collection of the classic apocalyptic saga X by the celebrated manga creative team CLAMP, an anthology of 14 never-before-released stories by Natsume Ono in TESORO, and the dramatic fantasy of DAWN OF THE ARCANA.
POKÉMON TRAVEL ACTIVITY KIT • Rated ‘A’ for All Ages •
MSRP: $11.99 US / $13.99 CAN • Available May 2011
This Activity Kit offers a variety of brand-new Pokémon from the new Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version video games. The box of fun delivers hours of entertainment and allows kids to play alone or with friends. Included is a 64-page activity pad (featuring word puzzles, mazes, etc.), two sheets of stickers, one double-sided play poster, six crayons and two standees. All of this is contained in a durable, suitcase-type package with Velcro closures and a handle for easy portability.
POKÉMON BLACK & WHITE Vols. 1-2 • Rated ‘A’ for All Ages •
MSRP: $4.99 US each / $5.99 CAN each • Available July 2011
Meet Pokémon Trainers Black and White! White has a burgeoning career as a Trainer of performing Pokémon. Black is about to embark on a Training Journey to explore the Unova region and fill a Pokédex for Prof. Juniper. Who will Black choose as his first Pokémon? Who would you choose…? Plus, meet brand-new Pokémon Tepig, Snivy, Oshawott, and many more never-before-seen Pokémon from the unexplored Unova region!
MAMESHIBA: ON THE LOOSE! • Rated ‘A’ for All Ages •
MSRP: $6.99 US / $7.99 CAN • Available July 2011
It’s a BEAN! It’s a DOG! It’s…BOTH?! Meet Mameshiba, the cute little bean dogs with bite! Starring in their first-ever adventures, they rescue friends, explore outer space and offer interesting bits of trivia when you least expect it! Hold on tight–Mameshiba are on the LOOSE! And don’t miss the Mameshiba Shorts!
MEET MAMESHIBA • Rated ‘A’ for All Ages •
MSRP: $6.99 US / $7.99 CAN • Available July 2011
Are they beans? Are they dogs? Not quite either one–they’re Mameshiba! Though they all love to share weird facts, each has its own quirky personality. Find out about Edamame, Chili Bean, Lentil and all their friends in this insider’s guide packed with trivia, quizzes, comics and activities!
YU-GI-OH! 5D’s Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens •
MSRP: $9.99 US / $12.99 CAN • Available July 2011
In New Domino City, the hottest game in town is the Turbo Duel, fought on blazingly fast motorcycles called Duel Runners. On the outskirts of New Domino City, in a district known as Satellite, a new Turbo Duel hero emerges named Yusei Fudo! On his custom-built Duel Runner, Yusei takes on all challengers, fighting for his friends and the future of Satellite! Also included in first print-run editions is a bonus Dark Highlander collectible trading card!
PSYREN Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens •
MSRP: $9.99 US / $12.99 CAN • Available October 2011
Ageha Yoshina just got transported to a warped alternate dimension where you’ve got to fight your way back to our world – or die trying. “Save me!” Those were Sakurako Amamiya’s last words to her friend Ageha Yoshina before she mysteriously went missing. Now Ageha’s on a quest to find her. He’s convinced that the mythical Psyren Secret Society has something to do with the recent rash of disappearances. And now he seems to be caught up as a player in their very deadly game…
X 3-IN-ONE Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens •
MSRP: $19.99 US / $22.99 CAN • Available October 2011
X, the epic fantasy series from CLAMP, will be released in deluxe collector’s editions. The pages have been recomposed in the original right-to-left reading format and restored to their highest quality. Each volume contains three of the original graphic novels, along with gorgeous, full-color illustrations never before published outside Japan!
In X, Kamui Shiro is a young man followed by mystery. Taken from Tokyo by his mother while still a child, he must leave behind his closest friends. Returning to Tokyo after his mother’s death, Kamui is now a changed young man – moody and distant to his old friends, yet determined to protect them from the dark forces that constantly swirl around him. He is the nexus of a great cataclysm to come, and the inheritor to a strange destiny that could decide the fate of the entire world.
TESORO • Rated ‘T’ for Teens • MSRP: $12.99 US / $14.99 CAN •
Available November 2011
This is an engrossing manga treasure trove containing 14 charming stories about family, friends, couples and unexpected bonds. Written by Natsume Ono over ten years, here is the long-awaited collection of her early work, including numerous illustrations and previously unpublished stories!
DAWN OF THE ARCANA Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens •
MSRP: $9.99 US / $12.99 CAN • Available December 2011
To end the conflict between the warring kingdoms of Senan and Belquat, Princess Nakaba of Senan is sent to Belquat to marry Prince Caesar. Accompanied solely by her half-beast attendant Loki, Nakaba must learn not only how to survive the intrigues of a hostile court but also how to handle the mercurial Caesar. And in the swirl of secrets and treachery, there could be one thing greater than all: the mysterious power of the Arcana.
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Speaking of larger cut sizes, I bought the second volume of 
My other purchase of the week, and the one I had to read as soon as I was handed my reciept for buying it, was Black Jack (Vol. 13). It’s my favourite of Osamu Tezuka’s works that I’ve read and easily one of my favourite manga series ever. Black Jack’s such a fun character, the kind of person you wouldn’t really want to meet under most circumstances in real life but on the page he’s a well-rounded individual with crazy surgeon skills and the attitude to use them for his own means. There’s quite a bit of Pinoko in this volume and aliens, plus Black Jack’s jerkliness is at an all-time low – yup, low. Volume thirteen really feels like a collection reminding us he’s got a heart of gold when sometimes it’s easy to forget.
