Viz Media

How COVID-19 is Affecting the Manga Industry: March 29, 2020

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

Here are some updates from the manga industry in the wake of COVID-19 as of March 29, 2020:

  • North America publisher Sol Press has announced on Twitter that the company has halted all physical production.
  • VIZ Media is continuing to print and ship manga and other book releases through Simon & Schuster to bookstores and online retailers, according to a report by ICv2.
  • Digital Manga Inc. has announced that “all aspects” of its Wonder 3 Kickstarter campaign are delayed.

Source: ANN

VIZ Media Publishes My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising Manga Chapter in English

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

VIZ Media has published Kōhei Horikoshi’s “My Hero Academia – League of Villains: Undercover” manga chapter in English on its website and app.

The nine-page manga was included in the Boku no Hero Academia Vol. R (My Hero Academia Vol. Rising) book that theatergoers to the My Hero Academia the Movie -Heroes: Rising- film received for free in Japan. The book also included character designs and notes on each character, and an interview with Horikoshi.

My Hero Academia the Movie -Heroes: Rising- opened in Japanese theaters on December 20, 2019. The film ranked at #1 in the United States box office when it opened on February 26, 2020, and has since earned more than US$13 million.

Source: ANN

VIZ Media Announces New Manga and Book Licenses

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

VIZ Media has announced the following titles for release in Fall 2020:

  • Naruto: Sasuke’s Story – Star Pupil (Sasuke Shinden) novel by Jun Esaka and Masashi Kishimoto (print, digital)
  • Chainsaw Man manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto (print, digital)
  • Fly Me to the Moon (Tonikaku Kawaii) manga by Kenjirō Hata
  • Moriarty the Patriot manga by Ryōsuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi (print, digital)
  • Tokyo Ghoul:re Illustrations: zakki art book by Sui Ishida
  • Revolutionary Girl Utena: After the Revolution manga by Be-PaPas and Chiho Saitō
  • Mermaid Saga Collector’s Edition (Ningyo Series) manga by Rumiko Takahashi (print, digital)
  • Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection (Kushami) manga by Naoki Urasawa
  • Junji Ito’s Remina (Jigokusei Remina) manga by Junji Ito

Source: ANN

VIZ Media to Publish the Death Note One Shot and the Guardian of the Witch Manga in English

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump service has announced that it will release Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s new Death Note one shot manga in English on February 3, 2020, and the first chapter of Asahi Sakano’s Guardian of the Witch (Majo no Moribito) manga on February 2, 2020.

The Death Note one shot will debut in the March 2020 issue of Shueisha’s Jump SQ. magazine on February 3, 2020. The February 2020 issue teased that the chapter will center on Ryuk’s Death Note being brought again to the human world, after the end of the main manga.

Asahi will launch Guardian of the Witch in this year’s 10th issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on February 2, 2020.

Source: ANN

VIZ Media and MANGA Plus Are Publishling the Mashle: Magic and Muscles Manga in English

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

Both VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump service and Shueisha’s MANGA Plus service launched Hajime Kōmoto’s Mashle: Magic and Muscles manga in English on January 26, 2020. The second chapter will debut on February 2, 2020.

Shueisha describes the manga:

This is a world of magic where magic is used for everything. But deep in the forest exists a young man who spends his time training and bulking up. He can’t use magic, but he enjoys a peaceful life with his father. But one day, his life is put in danger! Will his muscular body protect him from the magic users who are out to get him? Powerfully trained muscles crush magic as this abnormal magical fantasy begins!

Source: ANN

VIZ Media Moves Up the Time for Release of Shonen Jump Manga and Adds the Undead Unluck Manga

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

VIZ Media has announced that it will now release new chapters of manga from Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. ET. In instances where Weekly Shonen Jump releases in Japan on days other than Mondays (the magazine often releases on Saturday when there is a Monday holiday in Japan), VIZ Media’s release time may change from the normal time.

The new release time equates to 12:00 a.m. on Mondays in Japan. Shueisha releases its Weekly Shonen Jump magazine digitally in Japan on Mondays at 5:00 a.m. JST.

Starting in December 2018 with the launch of VIZ Media’s new Shonen Jump service, VIZ published new chapters from Weekly Shonen Jump in English digitally on Sundays at 3:00 p.m. ET. This new system pushes up the release time by five hours.

Viz Media also announced that it will publish Yoshifumi Tozuka’s Undead Unluck manga in English. The manga will launch in Weekly Shonen Jump‘s eighth issue in Japan on January 20, 2020, and is the first of three new manga debuting in January 2020 and February 2020 in the magazine.

Source: ANN

Star Wars: Legends of Luke Skywalker Manga Debuts From VIZ Media

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

43 years after Star Wars: A New Hope hit theaters, the legendary space saga unfolds in the galaxy of manga thanks to the latest story in the Skywalker saga.

Packing in all the adventure that fans would expect from Star Wars, publishing and entertainment juggernaut VIZ Media, in collaboration with Lucasfilm, presents Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga.

Encounters with the elusive Jedi Luke Skywalker have mystified many in a galaxy far, far away. A cadre of renowned Japanese manga artists, Akira Himekawa, Haruichi, Subaru, Akira Fukaya, and Takashi Kisaki, brilliantly capture and bring him to life in this literary piece.

Star Wars and manga fans alike will delight in the storytelling and humor narrated in Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga inspired by Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy award-winning author Ken Liu’s Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi.