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Posts Tagged Viz Media

PR: Summer Manga Readings Heats Up With Viz App Updates

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, July 6, 2011

SUMMERTIME MANGA READING HEATS UP WITH NEW DIGITAL RELEASES FOR THE VIZ MANGA APP FOR iPAD, iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH LAUNCHING THE FIRST HALF OF JULY

I’LL GIVE IT MY ALL TOMORROW, GRAND GUIGNOL ORCHESTRA And INUYASHA Among New Titles; Latest Update Also Features Additions To 15 Popular Manga

VIZ Media delivers more summer manga reading fun as it announces the debut of four new manga (graphic novel) series that join the extensive library of VIZ MANGA APP titles currently available for digital download for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod™ Touch.

Launching during the first-half of July will be Shunju Aono’s slacker-inspired I’LL GIVE IT MY ALL TOMORROW, as well as GRAND GUIGNOL ORCHESTRA, creator Kaori Yuki’s twisted tale of horror and tortured romance. The newest round of updates also features the debut of the VIZBIG omnibus version of Rumiko Takahashi’s classic supernatural adventure, INUYASHA. After shopping, also enter to win a $50 iTunes gift card by taking the VIZ Manga App survey, running through the end of August.

The VIZ MANGA APP is now available for free for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices through the iTunes® Store, and all manga volumes are generally available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada from within the application for only $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) per volume.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Fushigi Yugi, One Piece, Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media

Swag Bag: Animaritime 2011 Edition!

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, July 5, 2011

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We survived! Another year of Animaritime is behind us, bringing with it some much needed relaxation and a heavy sadness. I miss all the staff and chatting with the attendees and even that constant hectic mental state you get in when you’re running back and forth from 8am-12am everyday. Amazing times! If you’re curious to see some pictures or read some comments, our Facebook page is very lively this year.

Special thanks to Vertical Inc‘s Ed Chavez who attended as a guest and held several great manga panels. I loved being on a panel with him and Andre for our Manga Industry panel (my first time participating in a roundtable panel) and I learned a lot from Ed’s Manga Licensing panel (for the love of manga support our publishers!).

Though most of my attention stays as a staffer, I always make time to visit the vendors. I was really happy to see there was even more manga than usual this year and came back home with a satisfying stack of goodies.

From the vendor Gamezilla (whose recently revamped store location I visited after the con ended) I got some great discounts on hard to find titles. My largest purchase was volumes 2-11 of Descendants of Darkness which I’ve been itching to reread – a supernatural story that teeters on the edge of being a boys’ love story. The switches between humour and really dark content is as strange as I remember it.

Having enjoyed the complete random of the last volume I read, I also bought Gatcha Gacha (Vol.06-07) and on some recommendations, Suppli (Vol. 02-03). Going for something newer, I bought the third volume of Afterschool Charisma.

Strange Adventures (always the Halifax store of choice!) returned as a vendor and had a bunch of manga to sift through. From there I found three volumes of Rumiko Takahashi’s One Pound Gospel, volumes 4 and 5 of Itazura na Kiss and A Drifting Life (so I can finally leave the library copy for someone else!). Lastly, despite a lacklustre feeling from the first volume, I gave Saturn Apartments another chance by buying volumes 2 and 3.

Other random purchases included two pretty art books by names I can’t read the Kanji for (thus sadly can’t tell you who they are), and a stack of old Mixx magazines because I got them for pennies and enjoy the nostalgia factor.

So yay for convention weekend! Animaritime is always a blast and somehow manages to out-do itself every year. More memories, more manga – it’s all a win-win! So what was in your swag bag this week?

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Categories: Features, Swag Bag
Tags: Animaritime, Canada, Conventions, DMP, Manga, Rumiko Takahashi, Tokyopop, Viz Media

PR: Viz Media Brings The Cute & Fun Characters of Mameshiba

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, June 27, 2011

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IT’S A BEAN! IT’S A DOG! IT’S BOTH?!!
VIZ MEDIA BRINGS THE CUTE AND FUN CHARACTERS OF MAMESHIBA TO NORTH AMERICA

Adorable Japanese Character Sensations Make Their Debut In New Graphic Novel Adventure And Character Guide This Summer

San Francisco, CA, June 27, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has announced the release of its first titles for MAMESHIBA. The cute Japanese sensations will be introduced in a character guide called MEET MAMESHIBA! and star in their first-ever graphic novel, MAMESHIBA: ON THE LOOSE!, both to be released in July in the U.S. and Canada under the company’s VIZ Kids imprint.

It’s a BEAN! It’s a DOG! It’s… BOTH?! 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.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Viz Media

Review: 20th Century Boys (Vol. 15)

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, June 25, 2011

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Manga-ka: Naoki Urasawa
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “Around the globe, the mysterious and deadly virus continues to spread as the death toll mounts. However, Kanna, Otcho and Yoshitsune have another concern: despite what is being reported in the media, several people have claimed to see the Friend alive and walking the streets of Tokyo. But what does this bode for the pope’s visit to Japan and the 2015 World Exposition in Tokyo? “

One of my favourite parts of 20th Century Boys is how it comes at the plot from numerous different angles. The opening chapter of this fifteenth volume follows a priest in mourning over the death of his mentor. What begins as the task of going through the deceased Priest’s research, turns into Brother Luciano uncovering the new book of a prophecy and a plot to assassinate the Pope. How this brings the story full-circle back to Kanna and the others in Japan is another example of what makes this series such an addicting read.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: 20th Century Boys, Manga, Naoki Urasawa, Viz Media, Viz Signature

PR: Viz Media Captures A Snapshot of Life in La Quinta Camera

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, June 23, 2011

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NATSUME ONO CAPTURES A SNAPSHOT OF LIFE IN NEW MANGA RELEASE LA QUINTA CAMERA FROM VIZ MEDIA

Fast-Rising Manga Star Offers A Collection Of Slice-Of-Life Short Stories About The Unique Tenants Of An Italian Apartment

San Francisco, CA, June 22, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will delight fans and readers with the release of Natsume Ono’s single-volume manga (graphic novel), LA QUINTA CAMERA, on July 19th. The title is highly anticipated as accolades for Ono’s works continues to grow across North America. LA QUINTA CAMERA will be published under VIZ Media’s Signature imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN.

LA QUINTA CAMERA revolves around the tenants of an apartment in Italy. In four of the rooms live four single men with singular personalities. Into this peculiar ménage steps an exchange student, the new tenant of the fifth room. Brought together by chance, friends by choice, they pursue their dreams together as the days drift gently by.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Viz Media

PR: Viz Media Premieres New Yi-Gi-Oh! 5D Series

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, June 23, 2011

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VIZ MEDIA TO PREMIERE THE TENSE HIGH-SPEED ACTION OF NEW YU-GI-OH! 5D’S MANGA SERIES

High Stakes, High Drama And High Speed Turbo Duels Await Readers In The Latest Saga Of Classic Fantasy Action Franchise

San Francisco, CA, June 21, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will release the next exciting chapter of the venerable YU-GI-OH! franchise as the company launches the brand new YU-GI-OH! 5D’S manga (graphic novel) series on July 5th.

The new series, written by Masahiro Hikokubo with artwork created by Masashi Sato, will be published under the company’s popular Shonen Jump imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. First editions of the premiere volume will also include a special YU-GI-OH! Dark Highlander collectible trading card.

In New Domino City, the hottest game in town is the Turbo Duel, fought from 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 – Yusei Fudo! On his custom-built Duel Runner, Yusei takes on all challengers, fighting for his friends and the future of Satellite! In the opening volume of the new YU-GI-OH! 5D’S series, a high-speed Turbo Duel through the streets of Satellite brings Yusei Fudo and his friend Sect face-to-face with an urban legend incarnate! Will Yusei lose Sect to the Skeleton Knight? And what sinister plans does Jack Atlas, master of New Domino City, have in store for Yusei?

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Viz Media

Swag Bag – Avatar and Attorneys

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, June 23, 2011

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It’s swag bag time! Purchases have been light these past couple weeks after an enjoyably hefty purchase stack last time but there’s still some highly recommendable goodies!

First up are two of my top favourite running series – 20th Century Boys (Vol. 15) and Black Jack (Vol. 14). I can always count on both to be consistantly entertaining and these new volumes were no exceptions. 20th Century Boys in particular always make me want a manga book-group or something of the sort here in Halifax – this is a series that demands discussion! And darn that Urasawa, the man can make a cliffhanger.

From Viz Media I picked up the newest volume of Bakuman (Vol. 05) which continues to be excessively wordy and flounders on decent main character interaction BUT manages to be fun and educational all the same. I find myself actually excited for the new volumes, especially since they’ve been getting better with each book (granted volume one definitely wasn’t hard to top).

Looking to start something new, I bought the first volume of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney by Kodansha Comics. I’ve never played the games and my knowledge of the story ends at people yelling ‘Objection!’, so it’ll be interesting to see how I find the manga edition.

Next, though not manga it definitely has it’s share of crossover interest: Dark Horse has released a huge collection of short Avatar: The Last Airbender comics in a full-colour book called Avatar: The Lost Adventures. I’ve been waiting a long time for something like this to come out so I literally ran to Strange Adventures to buy my copy – worth every penny and then some! Both the art and the writing is fantastic, very true to the original story with lots of humour – highly recommended!

And last but certainly not least, something else not manga related but still awesome – a Tardis Cookie Jar! Oh yes. I’ve recently gotten hooked to the new seasons of Doctor Who and after marathoning all six new seasons in two weeks, I couldn’t resist buying this when I saw it. It’s big, it’s blue and it lights up and makes that Tardis sound, you know the one. It’s so cute, I love it :)

So what was in your swag bag this week?

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Categories: Features, Swag Bag
Tags: 20th Century Boys, Bakuman, Black Jack, Dark Horse, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Naoki Urasawa, Osamu Tezuka, Vertical Inc, Viz Media, Viz Signature

Viz Media with BL, Birthdays and a Baked-Good Puppy

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, June 20, 2011

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Some Viz Media news of note today including, well, just as the title suggests – some BL, birthdays and a baked-good puppy!

Viz Media is celebrating its 25th birthday this year (proving that awesome people and things were indeed born in 1986 – completely irrelevant it’s my birth year also). They have a mini-hub set up that’s updated with news relevant to the milestone – Viz Media: 25 Years! News so far on the site includes, among other things, their 2011 summer convention schedule:

April 22-24	Sakura-Con	Seattle, WA
May 27-30	Fanimecon	San Jose, CA
June 10–12	A-kon	Dallas, TXA
July 1-4	Anime Expo	Los Angeles, CA
July 21-24	San Diego Comic Con	San Diego, CA
July 29-31	Otakon	Baltimore, MD

Congrats on the birthday, Viz Media! May you have many more – and any chance we’ll see you on the East Coast at NYAF for well-wishes in person?

Noted by Viz Media staffer, Alexis Kirsch, on their Twitter page (and caught by eagle-eyed, Andre!) – Viz Media has licensed the manga series Cinnamoroll starring the character of the same name. Cinnamoroll is a Sanrio (company responsible for iconic characters such as Hello Kitty) character: a white puppy with long ears (that he uses to fly) and a little cinnamon bun shaped tail. No doubt the manga will be adorable and as sugary sweet as the baked goods that apparently drew Cinnamoroll from… wherever he came from.

Viz Media’s Job page has updated with four new job listings, but one in particular immediately caught the eyes of many – Editor (Yaoi/BL).

“The Editor (Yaoi/BL) is responsible for property acquisitions, executing print and digital publication production, and managing relationships with licensors and business partners in order to establish and grow VIZ Media’s line of mature content titles. …Knowledge of yaoi/BL genre and market, and ability to work on adult-oriented materials A MUST”

With Viz Media seeking an editor for the genre, it seems fairly safe to assume the manga-mecha company will be delving into some BL publishing. It’s exciting news and bears a lot of promise for boys’ love fans. It could do well filling the little gap that BLU’s demise has left by adding back some more BL titles on the shelves. Plus Viz Media’s wide distribution, which TP was always very similar to, means they may be easier to find than similar niche titles often are.

What boys’love titles would you like to see Viz Media license? The first that came to my mind was Sakuragari – a dark, boys’ love story by Yuu Watase (since they’re released almost everything else of hers). Ideas anyone? And don’t hesitate to let Viz Media know through Twitter – they’re always listening!

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Manga, Viz Media, Yuu Watase

Review: Rasetsu (Vol. 09)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, June 19, 2011

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Manga-ka: Chika Shiomi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “When the evil spirit shows up on Rasetsu’s birthday as promised, Rasetsu and her friends engage in a final showdown against it. Will Rasetsu be able to defeat her demon and live? Or will this birthday be her last?”

Speaking honestly, this ninth and final volume of Rasetsu was my first experience with the series. I never have a problem with jumping into a series mid-way – I think it can be a lot of fun prodding around the plot and characters when the story’s already in full-swing. The end of a series though is something that’s less easily justified to start and usually far more difficult to digest. One look in this book was enough to intrigue me however – a series drawn with strong lines and heavy blacks that immediately makes it stand out from most shoujo series. Toss in the fact the story is about psychics battling demonic spirits and I had to give Rasetsu a go, finale or not.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

PR: Viz Media Releases Face Crushing Action of Tenjo Tenge

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, June 18, 2011

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VIZ MEDIA RELEASES THE FACE-CRUSHING ACTION OF TENJO TENGE MANGA SERIES IN JUNE

Welcome to Todo High – Home of the Toughest Student Brawlers and Sexiest Badass Babes in High School History

San Francisco, CA, June 15, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, brings gnarly, knuckle-busting action to readers with the release of the manga (graphic novel) series, TENJO TENGE, on June 21st, created by Oh!great. The debut volume features 16 full-color pages and a selection of alternate color cover images. TENJO TENGE will be published by the VIZ Signature imprint, is rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences, and will carry an MSRP of $17.99 U.S. / $21.00 CAN.

Welcome to Todo High, where the only rule is: get strong or get schooled.

Soichiro Nagi and Bob Makihara have always been the meanest street brawlers around. When they enter Todo High they plan on carving out a reputation as the strongest fighters in their new school – easier said than done in a place that’s dedicated to training its students in the art of combat! After realizing they’re the new fish swimming in a tank full of sharks, Soichiro and Bob enter the Juken fight club as rookie members. However, the Executive Council – the archrival of the Juken Club – soon launches a surprise attack. Soichiro and Bob have a chance to show their stuff, as long as they don’t get curb-kicked in the process!

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Viz Media