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Posts Tagged Viz Media

PR: Viz Manga App Adds Six New Digital Manga Titles for June

VIZ MANGA APP ADDS SIX NEW DIGITAL MANGA TITLES FOR THE iPAD, iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH FOR JUNE

Latest Additions Complement Growing Library Of Titles Available Digitally; SMILE: PRAY FOR JAPAN Vols. 3-4 Also Debut

VIZ Media, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will launch six new manga (graphic novel) series during June that will be offered for digital download within the VIZ MANGA APP for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod™ Touch. Also debuting are Vols. 3 and 4 of Takehiko Inoue’s SMILE: PRAY FOR JAPAN illustrations, with all VIZ Media proceeds donated to the Japanese Red Cross to aid vicitims affected by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Scheduled to make their North American digital debuts today are the shojo dramas of BACKSTAGE PRINCE and THE STORY OF SAIUNKOKU. More shojo fun follows on June 20th with the launch of DENGEKI DAISY and AI ORE!, along with the critically acclaimed CROSS GAME. Finally, June 27th sees the debut of the lush and contemplative CHILDREN OF THE SEA. Updates to 22 other popular VIZ Media digital manga series are also scheduled.

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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Review: March Story (Vol. 01)

March Story (Vol. 01)
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Author: Hyung Min Kim
Manhwa-ga: Kyung Il Yang
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: October 2010

Synopsis: “Among the quiet villages and towns of 18th century Europe, demons known as the Ill hide within the most beautiful works of art, sparked to life by the torment of their creators. Attracted by their jewel-like allure, the unwary find themselves possessed by the Ill and driven to horrific acts of violence. Only the hunters of the Ciste Vihad can dispel the Ill. March is one such hunter, tracking the Ill from town to town to find the antiques that contain the demons before they can possess anyone. If the worst has come to pass, March’s full powers are unleashed to battle the fiendish Ill. Born of tragedy, the artifacts all have their own tales to tell, as do each of their victims. But March’s story may be the most tragic of all.”

The plot of March Story will be familiar to anyone who has read any popular shonen action-adventure series: a young teenager who is a member of an organization that fights evil goes from town to town fighting bad guys and monsters, using his special abilities to help people along the way. Oh, and don’t forget the tragic back story that ties him to the very evil he faces. That summary could easily fit Full Metal Alchemist or D.Gray-man, but in this case I’m talking about March Story. Volume one of March Story is a pleasant surprise. It proves that just because something’s formulaic, it doesn’t mean it isn’t good.

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Review: Butterflies, Flowers (Vol. 07)

Butterflies, Flowers (Vol. 07)

Manga-ka: Yuki Yoshihara
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “Choko Kuze is in a relationship with Masayuki Domoto her current boss and former servant. Now that Masayuki’s ex-girlfriend Kaori has returned, Choko worries that the villianess has too many “hit points” and “magic points” for her to defeat. Choko follows Masayuki and Kaori to a hotel room and barges in unannounced, yet finds herself unprepared for the shocking scene in front of her.”

Butterflies, Flowers volumes have consistently been one of my most-anticipated since the series began. Despite some iffy aspects of an initially one-sided relationship, I fell in love with the adult humour. Anime-related puns, sexual gags and an over-the-top male lead who never failed to react in a way that had you reeling. Now we’re seven volumes in and… I’m not really laughing anymore.

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Review: Black Bird (Vol. 08)

Black Bird (Vol. 08)
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Manga-ka: Kanoko Sakurakoji
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2011

Synopsis: “Raiko, the demon hunter who has been staying at Misao’s house, is determined to save her–even if that’s the last thing she wants! Kyo won’t allow a threat to Misao to go unchecked and plans to take care of the problem in his own special way. Misao, however, hopes that she can broker a peace between Raiko and Kyo before things get out of hand. But when Raiko’s attempts to “free” Misao fail, he hatches a devious new plan that will use Misao’s bond with Kyo to destroy him!”

Raiko has become one of the biggest obstacles in Black Bird as the demons remain rightfully wary of him. Meanwhile Misao struggles to live calmly under the same roof as someone who wants to kill her boyfriend. At this point in the story we’re just waiting for the obvious and this volume feels like one of the most cliched and predictable of the batch. It still manages to wring out some drama but you need to suspend a lot of belief and try to enjoy the show despite easily guessing much of what’s going to happen next.

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Review: Sakura Hime (Vol. 01)

Sakura Hime (Vol. 01)
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Manga-ka: Arina Tanemura
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: April 2011

Synopsis: “Sakura is the granddaughter of a mysterious moon princess who slew demons with her Blood Cherry Blossom sword. All her life Sakura has been forbidden to look at the full moon without knowing why. Then one night, unhappy over her impending marriage, Sakura gazes up at the moon, only to see a demon attacking her…”

Sakura Hime is one of the most confused books I’ve ever read. Not confusing – it’s linearity is fairly simple to follow – but confused in how it hops around between genres and moods so suddenly. While the story opens with a feudal-Japan love story, things take some surprisingly bleak twists that take things into the territory of dark magical girl stories complete with a Moon Princess, demons and ninjas.

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Review: Bleach (Vol. 35)

Bleach (Vol. 35)
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Manga-ka: Tite Kubo
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “Higher Than the Moon While the Soul Reapers are entrenched in bloody one-on-one battles with the Espadas, their sworn enemy Aizen is preparing to make the next move in his elaborate plan. The battlefields of Hueco Mundo will soon give way to another battlefield where the price of losing will prove to be infinitely higher. “

The first volume of Viz Media’s 3-in-1 edition of Bleach comes out this week and finishing this thirty-fifth single volume of the series makes me almost envious of the omnibus format. Never has there been a series that keeps me flipping through the pages as swiftly as I do in Bleach. A part of this is obviously because I want to know what happens next, but predominantly it’s because of how text-light and attack heavy the pages are. I love how fast-paced and energetic it is, you’re completely drawn into the fight sequences! Unfortunately they’ll only last you a couple of minutes at most.

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Swag Bag: All The RightStuf With BL, Kai and Viz

Canada Post recently announcing their rotating strike was already bad news on its own but I was doubly cranky about it as my box of RightStuf goodies was presumably trapped somewhere between here and there. Luck was on my side though and on the morning the strike was set to start, my box arrived!

Replica (Vol. 01)Taking advantage of their Digital Manga sale a little while back, I picked up a bunch of my must-have titles at prices I couldn’t possibly refuse! Paying their sale price on the US price, and the Canadian dollar as it is, I got each book for 50% off what I would’ve paid here.

Continuing current series, I bought Target in the Finder (Vol. 03), Kizuna Omnibus (Vol. 02) and Tyrant Who Falls In Love (Vol. 02). Now that I’ve got a couple volmes of Kizuna and Finder, it’s time to retire my BeBeautiful version to the storage bins. I also purchased Replica (Vol. 01) and Countdown 7 Days (Vol. 01). Both are shonen (I think?) series that I was able to get an early preview of from Digital Manga. I really liked them both and hope they still get a chance to impress people despite being hidden within DM’s big boys’ love library.

Back to the boys’ love, I got one of BLU’s final publications: Crimson Snow. It’s a one-shot title that I’ve been dying to have in my hand since I saw the gorgeous cover on Amazon last year. Learning the plot only furthered my want so it was the first to have its plastic covering ripped off. I also picked up the last two volumes of breath – a five volume BL series by the so far one-series company Yaoi Generation who’s been disappointedly quiet since last year.

Crimson SnowAnd because a RightStuf purchase isn’t complete without some anime, I happily took advantage of the Funimation sale to buy Dragonball Z Kai Parts 2-4 and the second half of the series Welcome to the NHK.

Buying back on more local soil, I visited our big bookstore Chapters as the customary before-and-after seeing a movie ritual (aka, it’s right next door to the biggest theatre). Last week I was thrilled to get a copy of A Bride’s Story from Yen Press. It’s a really gorgeous book and you’ll want to spend some time oogling the hard cover design before  you even crack it open.

This upcoming week is Viz Media‘s huge shipping list, which generally always happens the first week of the month. This often means a big armful of books for me and this month was no exception, especially with some of my absolute favourites out. Books carried to the check-out included Pokemon Adventures (Vol. 13), Bleach (Vol. 35), Blue Excorcist (Vol. 02) and Toriko (Vol. 05). I also bought Full Metal Alchemist 3-in-1 (Vol. 01) because of a friends’ recommendation. To try and round out the shonen just a little, I also bought Grand Guignol Orchestra (Vol. 03) – battling doll-like zombies with music while wearing Victorian gothic attire!

Thankfully I just finished a big Spring cleaning revamp of my manga bookshelves (which of course included adding a new one), so there’s plenty of space to start adding in my new goodies. That said, I’ll be selling a couple boxes full at this upcoming Animaritime so East Coast Canadians have another reason to come enjoy the event ;)

So what was in your swag bag this week?


Review: Arata (Vol. 06)

Arata (Vol. 06)

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “Hinohara discovers to his horror that his tormentor Kadowaki has followed him to Arata’s world. Recalling his suffering, Hinohara flies into a rage that triggers his transformation into a demonic entity!”

My prayers were answered after the Kadowaki-heavy volume five. He’s considerably less present in this sixth book after Hinohara forces a retreat of the group of opposing Sho. It comes with a price however. We learn that as much power as Hinohara’s weapon has for good, in his hands it still has the capability to cause out of control destruction. For the good of the world he aims to save, Hinohara will need to learn to control that temper, but as readers, it’s fantastic to see him get a chance to vent.

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PR: Receive 20% Off Naruto Digital Manga With Viz App!

RECEIVE 20% OFF NARUTO DIGITAL MANGA WITH NEW VIZ MANGA APP PROMOTION

World’s Most Popular Ninja Goes On Sale For A Limited Time Only For Digital Download For iPad, iPhone And iPod Touch!

VIZ Media has just launched a special digital promotion for its NARUTO manga (graphic novel) series. Digital versions of Volumes 1-27 of the classic action adventure story are available via the VIZ MANGA APP for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod Touch™ for only $3.99 – 20% off the normal MSRP. The promotion kicks off today for a limited time only and ends Friday, June 17th at midnight PST.

Created by Masashi Kishimoto in 1999, NARUTO (rated ‘T’ for Teens) quickly became Japan’s most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens and has sold more than 85 million copies to-date. NARUTO is also one of the most popular anime/manga properties in North America. The NARUTO manga and animated series depict the adventures of a young boy named Uzumaki Naruto who trains to become a ninja. Naruto, cursed with the spirit of the nine-tailed fox demon sealed within his body, is forced to live a bullied life discriminated against by his fellow villagers. But Naruto is resilient and undaunted and his determination often inspires those around him. Through the adventures, the young ninja learns the importance of friendship, teamwork, loyalty, hard work, creativity, ingenuity and right vs. wrong. More information on NARUTO is available at www.NARUTO.com.

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PR: Viz Offers Librarians Free Heroes of Manga Library Kits

VIZ MEDIA OFFERS LIBRARIANS FREE
HEROES OF MANGA LIBRARY KITS

New Kits Highlight Popular VIZ Media Manga Properties And Help Foster Literacy And A Love Of Japanese Pop Culture Among Library Patrons Of All Ages

San Francisco, CA, June 2, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, gives librarians across the country a useful new tool to promote reading, literacy and love of manga (graphic novels). The company has made available Heroes of Manga Library Kits, full of items to entice patrons to explore the exciting world of Japanese pop culture and comics.

Manga is one of the most requested categories in libraries today. The Heroes of Manga Library Kit features some of VIZ Media’s most popular properties, such as NARUTO, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN and POKÉMON, designed for a range of readers from All Ages to Young Adult. Each library kit contains 50 book covers, 300 bookmarks, 50 buttons, 5 assorted VIZ Media bags, and a full-color poster featuring NARUTO, and is available for FREE to library professionals. For more information, or to receive a kit, please submit information here before June 8, 2011. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

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