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Press Releases

All press releases are posted as-is from companies and industry professionals. All press releases can be sent to lissa (a) kuriousity.ca. Kuriousity staff reserve the right not to post PR we do not feel is relevant to our site's readers.

PR: Viz Media Names Ken Sasaki President and CEO

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, March 30, 2012

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VIZ MEDIA NAMES KEN SASAKI PRESIDENT AND CEO

Hidemi Fukuhara Elevated to Vice Chairman

San Francisco, CA, March, 29 2012 – VIZ Media, the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga, graphic novels and anime in North America, announced today that Ken Sasaki will succeed Hidemi Fukuhara as President and CEO of the company as of April 1st, 2012.

Sasaki joined VIZ Media in February of 2008 and most recently served as Senior Vice President and General Manager for VIZ Media, where he led the company’s digital content distribution strategy for animation. Sasaki was a driving force behind developing relationships with industry leaders for the digital distribution of anime.

“We have spent the last few years preparing VIZ Media for its digital future,” said Ken Sasaki. “I look forward to expanding our digital distribution channels even further, making manga, graphic novels and anime even more accessible to fans across North America.”

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PR: Announcing Konami Kanata at TCAF 2012

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, March 16, 2012

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The Beguiling and Vertical Inc. present

Konami Kanata at TCAF 2012
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival welcomes the renowned creator of Chi’s Sweet Home manga!

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2012
At The Toronto Reference Library,789 Yonge Street
Saturday, May 5th, 9am-5pm
Sunday May 6th, 11am-5pm
Free Admission

WWW.TORONTOCOMICS.COM

TORONTO, Ontario– The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) is excited to announce that internationally renowned manga creator Konami Kanata, author of the New York Times Bestselling Manga Chi’s Sweet Home, will appear at TCAF 2012 on May 5th and 6th! Kanata will make her first-ever North American appearance at TCAF 2012 in support of Chi’s Sweet Home, and she will be on panels, signing books, and participating in a special benefit fundraiser for the Tokhoku Region of Japan, still hard-hit following the great earthquake and tidal wave in March of last year. Kanata appears with the support of her North American publisher Vertical Inc., and TCAF sponsor The Beguiling Books & Art.

“Kanata-sensei’s work is really wonderful,” says TCAF Director Christopher Butcher. “While Chi’s Sweet Home is, on the surface, a series about an adorable kitten, in Japan it runs in a somewhat-edgy magazine aimed at adult men and women. The stories have a surprising resonance. While kids have immediately taken to this cute little Japanese cat, Kanata-sensei’s skill really makes these stories unique, and even occasionally profound. It will be an honour to meet her.”

Konami Kanata is a 25+ year veteran of Japan’s manga industry, with dozens of volumes of work that have sold millions of copies, and the characters of Chi’s Sweet Home alone have been adapted into two daily animated TV series, a number of merchandise lines, and even video games! Chi’s Sweet Home was also nominated for the Best Youth Comic Award at the Angouleme Festival in 2011. 8 volumes of Chi’s Sweet Home have been published in English by Vertical Inc., 7 of which are New York Times Bestsellers.

“Ms. Kanata was interested in coming to TCAF to meet all of her many North American fans, and to speak in support of the devastated Tohoku region of Japan,” continued Butcher. “This is also a very important cause to me personally, and so we are planning a number of initiatives including a special evening event to help raise funds on the weekend of TCAF.”

Konami Kanata will appear at TCAF on Saturday May 5th and Sunday May 6th 2012, at Toronto Reference Library. She will have a signing session each day at the Vertical Inc. booth, and will participate in programming each day. In addition, Ms. Kanata will be participating in a special event supporting the Tohoku Region, on the evening of Saturday May 5th, with details to follow.

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Categories: News, Press Releases
Tags: Canada, Conventions, TCAF, Vertical Inc

PR: Classic Shojo Manga HANA-KIMI and SKIP BEAT! Ominibus Editions

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 7, 2012

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VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES NEW
3-IN-1 OMNIBUS MANGA EDITIONS FOR
HANA-KIMI AND SKIP·BEAT!

New Releases Of Two Classic Shojo Manga Series Each Bundle Three Complete Volumes Into A Single Handy Edition

San Francisco, CA, March 6, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, offers fans a double-dose of shojo manga (graphic novel) fun today with the release of new omnibus 3-in-1 editions for a pair of classic series – SKIP·BEAT! and HANA-KIMI. Each of the new releases from the company’s Shojo Beat imprint bundles 3 complete manga volumes into a handy and compact reading companion.

HANA-KIMI 3-in-1 Edition Volume 1 · Rated “T+” for Older Teens ·
MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN · Available March 6th
Mizuki Ashiya has such a crush on a track star named Izumi Sano that she moves from the U.S. to Japan to enroll in the all-male high school he attends! Pretending to be a boy, Mizuki eventually becomes Sano’s roommate… but how can she keep such a big secret when she’s so close to the guy she likes?

Creator Hisaya Nakajo’s manga series, HANA-KIMI, has been a hit since it first appeared in 1997 in the shojo manga magazine Hana to Yume (Flowers and Dreams). In Japan, a HANA-KIMI art book (also available from VIZ Media) and several drama CDs also have been released. Her other notable manga series include Missing Piece and Yumemiru Happa (The Dreaming Leaf).

SKIP·BEAT! 3-in-1 Edition Volume 1 · Rated “T” for Teens ·
MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN · Available March 6th
Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he’s casting her out now that he’s famous enough! Kyoko won’t suffer in silence – she’s going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Manga creator Yoshiki Nakamura started drawing manga in elementary school, which eventually led to her 1993 debut with Yume de Au yori Suteki (Better Than Seeing in a Dream) in Hana to Yume (Flowers and Dreams) magazine. Her other works include the basketball series Saint Love, as well as Can’t Give Up MVP, Blue Wars, and Tokyo Crazy Paradise, a series about a female bodyguard set in 2020 Tokyo.

For more information on HANA-KIMI, SKIP·BEAT!, or other shojo manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit ShojoBeat.com.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Skip Beat, Viz Media

PR: Viz Media’s Earl And the Fairy – Fairy Doctor Caught in Victorian Intrigue!

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, March 2, 2012

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FANTASY AND INTRIGUE AWAIT READERS IN THE NEW VIZ MEDIA SHOJO MANGA SERIES THE EARL AND THE FAIRY

A Fairy Doctor Who Sees Magical Creatures Helps An Aristocrat Search For A Legendary Sword And Hunt A Mysterious Killer

San Francisco, CA, March 1, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, launches a fantastic tale of fairies and fantasy set in against the backdrop of Victorian England with the debut of THE EARL AND THE FAIRY on March 6th. The new Shojo Beat series, created by Mizue Tani with artwork by Ayuko, is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor and one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued from kidnappers by a mysterious young man!

Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces!

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Tags: Viz Media

PR: Seven Seas Licenses HAGANAI and MAYO CHIKI!

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, March 1, 2012

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Seven Seas Licenses HAGANAI and MAYO CHIKI!

LOS ANGELES, February 29, 2012 – Seven Seas Entertainment is thrilled to announce that it has added two hilarious comedy manga series to its 2012 line-up-the high school fandom comedy Haganai: I Have No Friends and the zany gender-bender Mayo Chiki!

Haganai: I Have No Friends (Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, aka Haganai), by Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi, is a wild, offbeat comedy about social outcasts that spawned a popular Japanese anime TV series that was simulcast in the US in Fall 2011 and will be released on video in North America by Funimation.

Recent high school transfer student Hasegawa Kodaka is pathetically inept at making friends. Kodaka is an outcast, with his natural blonde hair which he inherited from his deceased English mother, and his unpleasant, fierce gaze. When he comes across the brash loner Mikazuki Yozorai, who typically chats with her imaginary friend, the two outsiders become the unlikeliest of allies. Realizing they have no hope of a normal social life, the two rejects decide to form a group called “The Neighbor’s Club” in order to make friends and maybe even learn a thing or two about social skills.

Volume 1 of Haganai: I Have No Friends will hit store shelves in November 2012, with Volume 2 following in February 2013, with later volumes to follow.

Mayo Chiki!, by Hajime Asano and Niito, is a fan service-filled romp sure to please fans of wacky gender-benders like Kashimashi, rollicking harem comedies like Inukami, and over-the-top high school romances such as Toradora. Mayo Chiki! was adapted into a popular anime that aired on Japanese TV in summer 2011.

Kinjiro Sakamachi is a “normal” seventeen-year-old boy who happens to suffer from an abnormal fear of women, otherwise known as gynophobia. His phobia, which surfaces as an occasional nosebleed, has been kept more or less under control…until now. A fateful visit to the school bathroom turns Kinjiro’s world upside down, as he discovers the dashing and popular Konoe Subaru is actually a girl!? What’s worse, the principal’s cruel and domineering daughter, Kanade Suzutsuki, has every reason to keep this secret from leaking out, and makes it her life’s work to torment Kinjiro, while attempting to cure his gynophobia.

Volume 1 of Mayo Chiki! will come out at the end of the year in December 2012, with Volume 2 following in March 2013, with later volumes to follow.

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Tags: Haganai, Seven Seas

PR: Animate USA – February 2012 Releases for Amazon Kindle

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, February 21, 2012

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ANIMATE USA – NEW RELEASES IN AMAZON KINDLE STORE

TOKYO, JAPAN – February 21st – Animate U.S.A., Inc. is pleased to bring you four new releases this month in February. The month may be shorter, but we’re not holding back on our releases! This month brings with it three new installments of continuing series and a brand new one-shot story from Kou Yoneda. Youka Nitta’s yakuza romance story, “Kiss Ariki,” continues this month, as well as a bonus story to Shiuko Kano’s popular “Play Boy Blues.” These two stories, along with Kou Yoneda’s “Kanjou Spectrum,” are all exclusive to the Kindle. And Naduki Koujima’s next chapter of “Selfish Love” also debuts on the Kindle this month. Be sure to check them out and get your monthly yaoi fix from Libre Publishing!

For more information, go to www.animate-world.com and www.libre-pub.co.jp Your love for Youka Nitta doesn’t have to stop with Kiss Ariki! Check out her website nittayouka.com for recent news, comments, wallpapers, and more. You may not be able to read anything by Yamane Ayano this month from us, but be sure to stop by yamaneayano.com to see updates, artwork, and author commentary! Support your favorite authors by visiting their websites!

February 2011:

Youka Nitta – “Kiss Ariki – Episode 7” KINDLE EXCLUSIVE!!!
Kou Yoneda – “Kanjou Spectrum” KINDLE EXCLUSIVE!!!
Shiuko Kano – “P.B.B. Play Boy Blues – Bonus Episode” KINDLE EXCLUSIVE!!!
Naduki Koujima – “Selfish Love Vol.2 Part 4” KINDLE DEBUT

“Kiss Ariki – Episode 7” by Youka Nitta

Tohru, the son of the Suki clan, was born so beautiful that when he rides in a crowded train, he’s likely to be groped. One day, amid whispers of who will succeed the Suki clan, a rumor surfaces about an illegitimate child of the clan’s boss!

“Kanjou Spectrum” by Kou Yoneda

Even if you’re in a crowd of people wearing identical uniforms… Even if I can only see your back from far away… You are the only one that I’ll never fail to recognize. My gaze is always yearning for you. I had already fallen for your before I realized it. Teenage love doesn’t need a reason.

” P.B.B. Play Boy Blues – Bonus Episode” by Shiuko Kano

A series of short stories about Shinobu and Junsuke’s relationship. A collection of 4koma stories, from a flashback to their lives five years ago to Yukata Day at the Host Club. See how their love continues to grow and show itself in new ways, and more! Take a break from the main story and spend a little time laughing and saying “aww” at these cute side stories.

“Selfish Love Vol.2 Part 5” by Naduki Koujima

The Unexpected Climax! Orito, the President of the Honors Society, won’t take “no” for an answer. He refuses to stop pursuing the affections of Ryuuya, the Vice President. After all, according to Orito, the Vice President is supposed to be his “right hand man.” The advances keep escalating, and Ryuuya’s honor is at stake! Will he remain pure and defiant, or will he give in to Orito’s strong and sensuous game of love?

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi

PR: High School Girl Marches To Her Own Beat In A Devil and Her Love Song

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, February 8, 2012

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A HIGH SCHOOL GIRL MARCHES TO HER OWN BEAT IN
A DEVIL AND HER LOVE SONG, NEW FROM VIZ MEDIA

An Outspoken Outsider With Amazing Singing Talent Tries To Fit In And Still Maintain Her Hard Edge In The Latest Manga Series From VIZ Media’s Shojo Beat Imprint

San Francisco, CA, February 8, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, debuts the poignant shojo manga (graphic novel) series, A DEVIL AND HER LOVE SONG, now available. The new title, published under the company’s Shojo Beat imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens and carries an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Meet Maria Kawai – she’s gorgeous and whip-smart, a girl who seems to have it all. But when she unleashes her sharp tongue, it’s no wonder some consider her to be the very devil! Maria’s difficult ways even get her kicked out of an elite school, but this particular fall may actually turn out to be her saving grace… Maria’s frank nature gains her more enemies at her new school, but her angelic singing voice inadvertently catches the attention of Yusuke Kanda and Shin Meguro. Can these boys mend her hardened heart, or will they just end up getting scorched?

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Tags: A Devil and her Love Song, Viz Media

PR: Viz Media Brings The Secret World of Arrietty to Readers In New Series

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, January 27, 2012

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VIZ MEDIA BRINGS THE WONDROUS MINIATURE ADVENTURES OF STUDIO GHIBLI’S THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY TO READERS IN A NEW SERIES OF BOOKS

Releases Based On The New The Film By Hayao Miyazaki’s Famed Animation Studio Include Film Comics, Art And Picture Books

San Francisco, CA, January 26, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, brings the miniaturized adventure of famed Studio Ghibli’s newest animated creation – THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY – to readers everywhere with a collection of ARRIETTY film comics, art and picture books set to debut on February 7th, 2012. THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY is scheduled for North American theatrical release on February 17th, 2012.

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY is based on the celebrated novel, The Borrowers, by Mary Norton and was produced by Studio Ghibli, the famed animation company founded by Hayao Miyazaki, which also created Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. The new film, with planning/screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, will feature the voice talents of Bridget Mendler, Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett and Will Arnett for its English language release.

Arrietty isn’t your ordinary fourteen-year-old girl – she is small enough to make her home under the floorboards of a typical house, “borrowing” what she and her family need from the giants in whose shadows they live. A young boy named Shawn befriends Arrietty, but when adults discover the Borrowers, Arrietty and Shawn must work together to save her family.

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY PICTURE BOOK  Rated “A” for All Ages  MSRP: $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN  Available February 7th, 2012
The colorful and easy-to-read THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY Picture Book is a full-color hardcover edition that will appeal to younger readers especially. The book uses the vividly colored animation cel art from the feature film combined with simplified text to retell the story of Arrietty and her adventures.

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY FILM COMICS  Rated “A” for All Ages  MSRP: $16.99 U.S. each / $19.99 CAN each  Available February 7th, 2012
The official 2-volume film comic of THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY re-tells the film’s story with vivid full-color frames.

THE ART OF THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY  Rated “A” for All Ages  MSRP: $34.99 U.S. / $39.99 CAN  Available February 7th, 2012
Co-founded by the legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli films enthrall and enchant audiences across the world. The Art of series gives fans the opportunity to follow their favorite film from initial concept to the silver screen, thanks to hundreds of sketches, concept drawings, and animation cels, plus in-depth interviews with the creators.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Anime, Viz Media

PR: DMP Platinum Launches Groundbreaking Kickstarter Tezuka’s Barbara

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, January 13, 2012

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Digital Manga is partnering with fans to produce a gripping, never-before-translated work by father of modern manga Osamu Tezuka!

Gardena, CA (January 13th, 2012) As part of its effort to accelerate the licensing and publishing of high-quality niche and classic manga in the United States, Digital Manga, Inc., today launched a campaign on crowd-funding site Kickstarter to translate Barbara by Osamu Tezuka, an adult drama never before published in English. For the next 30 days, fans will be able to pledge in exchange for a variety of rewards, including copies of Barbara and exclusive bonuses. If the target total of $6,500 is reached by the deadline (Feb. 12, 2012), production of Barbara will move forward.

The campaign follows on a previously successful Kickstarter project to fund a new print run of another work by Tezuka, Swallowing the Earth, which made more than 220% of its goal in November and December. (New copies of Swallowing the Earth will be available through Akadot.com in February.) If the Barbara campaign reaches its target, Barbara will be published under Digital Manga’s DMP Platinum imprint in a large paperback, 5 7/8″ x 8 1/4″, the same size as Swallowing the Earth.

Additional bonuses include a digital companion to Barbara available exclusively to Kickstarter backers, a limited-edition Tezuka tribute poster with original art screen-printed by Two Rabbits Studios in downtown Los Angeles and original T-shirts printed by Forward Printing in Oakland, CA. Final art for the posters and T-shirts as well as additional rewards will be posted on the Kickstarter page as the month progresses.

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Categories: Licensing, Press Releases
Tags: DMP, Kickstarter

PR: Author of the Doujin Smash Hit Radio de Go! Creates New Manga for GEN!

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, January 13, 2012

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GEN Manga Announces the Release of Let’s Eat Ramen

Let’s Eat Ramen appears in GEN 8 and will be available nationwide Jan. 2011!

NEW YORK, NY – GEN Manga Entertainment, Inc. announces the release of Let’s Eat Ramen in GEN 8. (GEN 8, 162 pages, black and white, 1.99) will be available Jan. 2011.

Nagumo is the author of the popular series Radio de Go! Making his debut in Manga Time Kirakira Carat in 2007 he has since made waves in the Japanese doujin community with his smash hit Radio de Go! Now Nagumo will be releasing a new original story for GEN Manga titled Let’s Eat Ramen.

Let’s Eat Ramen is the story of Saeki, a girl who loves ramen noodles. At last, she thinks that she has finally found the perfect ramen shop, but the problem is the shop is completely full of old regulars and she can’t get in. Will the timid Saeki ever summon the willpower to reach out and get the ramen that she desperately wants? An indie manga about the finer points of eating ramen noodles from the creator of the radio manga Radio de Go!, brought to you by genmanga.com.

Junji Ohno creates his second sassy new cover for GEN 8. Ohno made his debut at the age 19 in Weekly Shonen Magazine, and has been a regular contributor to numerous weeklies in Japan, such as Weekly Shonen Fang, Comic Bonbon, and Shonen Comic Champion. Ohno’s work includes: Shiritsu Justice Gakuen (1998), Hotshot, Axel Rex, and Spider Riders. Junji Ohno is the newest edition to GEN, America’s number one source for authentic doujin manga, where Junji will be making his American debut as the new cover artist.

Readers can also find consecutive issues available on Graphicly. Graphicly is available on numerous platforms, including the Nook, iphone, and Android.

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Categories: Licensing, Press Releases