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Posts Tagged Viz Media

PR: Sample The Latest Cross Game Manga and Anime Releases

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, January 10, 2011

SAMPLE THE LATEST CROSS GAME MANGA AND ANIME RELEASES, NEW FROM VIZ MEDIA

VIZ Media has just announced new additions to its critically acclaimed CROSS GAME property. On the manga (graphic novel) side, CROSS GAME Volume 2 (bundling Vols. 4 and 5 of the original series as released in Japan) will be published under the Shonen Sunday imprint. The latest volume releases on January 11th, is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN. On the anime side, to celebrate the CROSS GAME Vol. 2 manga release, two new episodes (episodes 39 and 40) will be available to stream – for free – beginning the week of January 10th on VIZAnime.com, the company’s premiere website for anime content.

CROSS GAME is a moving drama that is heartfelt and true, yet in the brilliant hands of creator Mitsuru Adachi, the story delightfully flows with a light and amusing touch. The series centers around a boy named Ko, the family of four sisters who live down the street, and the game of baseball. This poignant coming-of-age story will change readers’ perception of what shonen manga, can be.

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ANN Review: Ouran High School Host Club (Vol. 15)

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, January 10, 2011

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New review of mine over at AnimeNewsNetwork this afternoon, this time for the newest volume of my newest manga-love, Ouran High School Host Club (Vol. 15).

I marathoned the entire series (released so far) in about a week leading up to reviewing this newest volume and I’ve easily found one of my favourite manga series. I’ve already seen the anime a few times (for which Funimation and all the VAs did amazing work, by the way) but I never felt compelled to read the manga. Thank goodness for the cheap up-to-date set that I was able to buy from Strange Adventures!

The series overall is really cute and silly in the best of ways, and I was really glad to see the art improve so much over the duration of the story. The amount of character development slipped in over time was impressive, though it did start beating readers over the head by around volume twelve. How can people be so in love with someone but not realize they’re in love?! It boggled the brain. But in the fifteenth volume, a lot of these emotional elements are resolved and now it’s up to the final few volumes to show us what comes of it. I’m eager to find out!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Viz Media

Swag Bag – Secret Foods of Gatcha Host Club

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, January 6, 2011

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A new year, a new swag bag banner! There was no Swag Bag the last two weeks as the holidays overtook and my wallet’s funds went towards buying gifts for others instead of stocking bags with goodies for myself. But I’ve since bought a few books for myself so let’s see what’s on the reading stack this coming week and what buys marked the first of the New Year!

I’ve spent the last week marathoning the Ouran High School Host Club manga, flying through volumes 1-14 with lots of love. One of my new favourites for sure – absolutely adorable! That said, I was quick to ensure I then had the newest volume so I picked up Ouran High School Host Club (Vol. 15). It looks like Tamaki is finally going to figure something obvious out… for better or worse.

Next I picked up the first volume of The Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko which I bought purely upon hearing so many good things about it. Plus after reading so much Ouran I’m up for some more shoujo-y goodness. This is also the first new series I’ve bought that sports Tokyopop’s new graphic design work. It uses a lot of black and is pretty slick looking. I’m not sure how well it will compliment different series but for now the pink and black looks really nice.

Speaking of graphic design that looks really good, I bought the one-shot Not Love But Delicious Food Makes Me Happy. Firstly, crazy long name, but secondly I adore the job Yen Press did on the cover design. Very nice! The book itself is a semi-autobiographical story of ‘Y-naga’ relishing in her love for food, all of which is drawn in great detail.

And from the bargain bin at Strange Adventures (where all the books I’ve bought this week were bought from, as per usual!), I bought a volume of Gatcha Gacha. Reason being was Sean Gaffney’s apparently contagious affection for the series. We shall soon see if I join him in this upon finishing,.

Lastly, the second volume of Hetalia. I told myself I wasn’t going to, but after seeing Canada played a bigger role, I couldn’t help it… Mindless cute fun in small doses so not a buy I regret, just one I waffled a long while on if I cared enough to make. Apparently I do!

I also purchased a handful of books from Amazon.ca but those I’ll share once they arrive – doesn’t count until it’s in my hands! So what were your first purchases of the New Year?

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Categories: Features, Swag Bag
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop, Viz Media, Yen Press

PR: New Manga for the New Year! INUYASHA Final Vol on Jan 11th!

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, January 6, 2011

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FATES ARE SEALED IN A FINAL SHOWDOWN AS EPIC MANGA ADVENTURE INUYASHA CONCLUDES

VIZ Media has announced the release of the final installment of Rumiko Takahashi’s longtime bestselling manga (graphic novel) series, INUYASHA, on January 11th. Fans won’t want to miss even a single page of the action in Volume 56, Curtain of Time, which is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and carries an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. INUYASHA is published under VIZ Media’s Shonen Sunday imprint.

Kagome, a modern-day high school girl, is pulled into Japan’s ancient past! There, her destiny is linked to a dog-eared half demon named Inuyasha. Together, they battle evil demons who seek to acquire the shards of the legendary Shikon Jewel and wield its incredible power. But can Kagome and Inuyasha stop feuding with each other long enough to save the feudal or modern world–let alone both?

In the climactic showdown, the demon Naraku’s true intentions are finally revealed! Then, Kagome is swallowed up by the Meido. Is she finally beyond her friends’ reach? And will the final battle over the Shikon Jewel draw Inuyasha and Kagome together…or pull them apart forever?! Find out in the exciting concluding volume!

The spotlight on manga creator Rumiko Takahashi began in 1978 when she won an honorable mention in Shogakukan’s annual New Comic Artist Contest for Those Selfish Aliens. Later that same year, her boy-meets-alien comedy series, Urusei Yatsura, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This phenomenally successful manga series was adapted into anime format and spawned a TV series and half a dozen theatrical-release movies, all incredibly popular in their own right. Takahashi followed up the success of her debut series with one blockbuster hit after another – MAISON IKKOKU ran from 1980 to 1987, RANMA ½ from 1987 to 1996, and INUYASHA from 1996 to 2008. Other notable works include MERMAID SAGA, RUMIC THEATRE, and ONE-POUND GOSPEL. These, as well as her newest manga series, RIN-NE, are also published in North America by VIZ Media.

Also catch INUYASHA anime episodes – for free – on VIZAnime.com.

More information on INUYASHA, or other Shonen Sunday titles from VIZ Media, is available at www.ShonenSunday.com.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz Media

Review: Crown of Love (Vol. 04)

By Shannon Fay on Wednesday, January 5, 2011

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Yun Kouga
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2010

Synopsis: “Rima begins to question her feelings for Ikeshiba after the night he kissed her. Finding herself shocked that it wasn’t what she imagined it would be like, her thoughts turn to Hisayoshi. But Hisayoshi, frustrated with Rima’s constant rejection, has gone missing. Will his absence finally make Rima realize how much he means to her?!”

Crown of Love is a shojo manga about an ordinary teenager who decides to become a superstar in order to impress a certain someone. In this past month alone I’ve read two manga with the very same plot (Honey Hunt & Skip Beat) but while those series manage do something new and different with the idea, Crown of Love plays it straight, delivering a clichéd story with very few surprises.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

Viz Media Launches New Website and Leaves Much to Be Desired

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, January 3, 2011

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Viz Media is starting the new year with a brand new website! And that is sadly where my enthusiasm ends.

I’d stated a short while back that I’d be continuing with my publisher website reviews, a longer than intended hiatus previously taken after several companies requested I wait. Viz Media’s website, or their old one at least, was my newest completed review, a rather frustrating irony in that so soon after I finished did this new site go up. But I digress, this is about the new site and naturally after finishing a review of their old site, and thoroughly going through my likes and dislikes of it to myself, I had presumptuously high hopes that I may see some of my complaints already addressed in this version when I saw it was live.

Alas… Viz Media, what were you thinking?

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Categories: Editorials, Misc, News
Tags: Viz Media

Year in Brief Review – Manga Favourites of 2010

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, January 1, 2011

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It’s New Years Day! And that means the end of 2010 has come and gone – the end of the first decade of the 2000s’, the end of another year of fantastic comics (upon other many wonderful things).

Just for a little living in the past on this first day of 2011, what better time to look back at 2010 with some favourites, surprises, disappointments and neat website tidbits. Sure it would’ve made more sense to have posted yesterday but who has time with all those celebrations going on… right?

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Categories: Misc
Tags: 20th Century Boys, Bakuman, Black Butler, Black Jack, Bunny Drop, CLAMP, CMX, Dark Horse, Del Rey, Hinako Takanaga, June, Manga, Rumiko Takahashi, Tokyopop, Toriko, Vertical Inc, Viz Media, Viz Signature, Yen Press

ANN Review: Genkaku Picasso (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, December 26, 2010

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Boxing Day already? Amazing how long we plan, purchase and pace waiting for Christmas and then it’s over in a flash! I hope everyone who celebrates it had a Merry Christmas and enjoyable time spent with family and friends. Maybe even some manga under the tree perhaps?

With the new year coming up in a little under a week, it’s a good time for me to get caught up on posting to my AnimeNewsNetwork reviews here on Kuriousity (which as a reminder you can now find at kuriousity.ca!).

Back at the end of November my review for the first volume of Genkaku Picasso was posted. Overall I liked reading it, having fairly high expectations of all the things I’d heard of and read of Usamaru Furuya’s works before. The premise is really interesting – a boy granted the ability to help others by manifesting their inner-selves in his artwork – but it suffers from a very cut-and-dry episodic execution. A neat plot and generally entertaining characters balanced out with the tedious pacing well enough to make me look forward to the next volume, which should be out early February. More creepy in-story artwork and their androgynous artist to come!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Viz Media

PR: Shaman King Manga Finale New From Viz Media in January

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, December 24, 2010

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AN EPIC ADVENTURE REACHES ITS CLIMAX IN SHAMAN KING MANGA FINALE, NEW FROM VIZ MEDIA IN JANUARY

VIZ Media unleashes the final volume of Hiroyuki Takei’s SHAMAN KING as the long-running manga (graphic novel) series reaches a grand climax. The concluding installment, Volume 32, (rated ‘T’ for Teens; MSRP: U.S. $9.99 / $12.99 CAN) hits nationwide on January 4th, 2011.

Yoh Asakura has spent years training for the Shaman Fight, an epic tournament to determine who will become the Shaman King and shape humanity’s future. Unfortunately for Yoh, every shaman in the world is also vying for the same prize.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Stan Lee, Viz Media

Review: Honey Hunt (Vol. 06)

By Shannon Fay on Thursday, December 23, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Miki Aihara
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2010

Synopsis: “With Yura and Q-ta’s relationship now revealed to the public, Mizorogi will need to decide whether or not to interfere. What will Haruka do when he has the chance to tell Yura his true feelings? And when Q-ta visits Yura at her house, the two of them end up in the bedroom all alone…”

This volume of Honey Hunt focuses on the love triangle between main character Yura and brothers Q-ta and Haruka. It’s a complicated situation only made worse by the fact that all three are celebrities and have to juggle their professional and personal lives. Yet, even though they’re famous, the characters themselves are relatively grounded, with no one emerging outright as the obvious choice or bad guy.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media