Viz Talks Prince of Tennis, Bleach

Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Duo of popular manga titles to debut as SHONEN JUMP graphic novels

beginning spring of 2004.



San Francisco, Calif, February 10, 2004 - VIZ, LLC, one of the leading

publishers and distributors of manga comics and anime content for North

American audiences, has announced the addition of two new manga titles

to its popular SHONEN JUMP graphic novel line. THE PRINCE OF TENNIS will

ship in April of 2004 and hit store shelves on a bi-monthly basis

beginning in May, while the long awaited supernatural title BLEACH will

ship in May and be available bi-monthly in stores starting in June.



As an exclusive special, THE PRINCE OF TENNIS will be given an advance

preview in the May issue of SHONEN JUMP magazine, which goes on sale

April 6. A preview of BLEACH will run in the June issue, which hits

stores and newsstands on May 4.



THE PRINCE OF TENNIS

192 pages, $7.95 U.S.

April 2004



The exciting backdrop of high school tennis serves as the setting for

the sports drama and coming-of-age story, THE PRINCE OF TENNIS. From

creator Takeshi Konomi, the manga depicts the on- and off-the-court

adventures of Ryoma Echizen, who joins the Seishun Gakuen Middle School

tennis team, known for being one of the most competitive teams in Japan.


Freshmen rarely have a chance to actually play during their first year,

but Ryoma's cool confidence, combined with a deadly, un-returnable

"twist serve," gain him a coveted starting spot. With rigorous and

extremely intense practices, the upperclassmen of the team expect the

very best from themselves, and expect even more from the new members of

the team. He's made the cut but can he survive the intense competition?

Join Ryoma and other first year players, as they train hard, make

friends, and try to find a place for themselves on the team. Also meet

Ryoma's cute but chronically shy classmate, Sakuno Ryuzaki, who hopes he

will notice her. Ryoma Echizen is THE PRINCE OF TENNIS. He may be ready

for the Seishun Gakuen tennis team, but are they ready for him?



Since its debut in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1988, THE PRINCE OF TENNIS has

become immensely popular in Japan, with 21 graphic novel volumes

published to-date that have sold almost 26 million copies. Combined with

an equally popular anime series that has aired over 100 episodes, THE

PRINCE OF TENNIS has also been credited with inspiring many young

Japanese adults and children to take up the sport. As a further

testament to the success of the franchise, a bevy of related trading

card games, apparel, stationary and videogames have found a fervent

following. Many have even credited THE PRINCE OF TENNIS with increasing

memberships on junior high school tennis teams.



"Sports have always been a popular subject for Japanese comics, but this

is the first time VIZ has offered a realistic, true-to-life sports manga

to mainstream domestic audiences," states Hyoe Narita, senior vice

president of editorial, and editor-in-chief of SHONEN JUMP. "We look

forward to readers identifying with the coming of age trials that Ryoma

Echizen faces in these stories and hope that fans will take a page from

the manga and realize that with hard work and dedication anything is

possible. After reading THE PRINCE OF TENNIS, North American junior high

tennis clubs might even see a spike in membership."





BLEACH

192 pages, $7.95 U.S.

May 2004



BLEACH tells the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, who is just like any other

ordinary 15-year-old high school student - except for his special

ability to see ghosts. So when a teenage girl materializes through his

bedroom wall, it should be no call for alarm. However, this girl, named

Rukia, is a shinigami (Soul Reaper) who is hunting a Hollow (an evil

spirit that consumes souls). The Hollow proceeds to attack Ichigo's

family and Rukia is badly wounded. In order to defeat the evil spirit,

Rukia must let Ichigo temporarily become a Soul Reaper by absorbing some

of her energy. However, Ichigo inadvertently ends up with all of Rukia's

powers and after defeating the Hollow, she informs Ichigo that since she

has relinquished all her powers, he must now take on all the

responsibilities of a Soul Reaper until she can figure out how to get

her powers back. Now this 15-year-old high school student begins a brand

new vocation as a hyperkinetic, all-purpose ghost buster. With enough

attitude to make a grown demon blush, Ichigo and crew are cleaning up

the afterlife, one ghoul at a time.



BLEACH is author Tite Kubo's second title and it has spawned 11 volumes

to-date that have sold close to 7 million copies. Kubo made his debut

with ZOMBIE POWDER, a four-volume manga series also about supernatural

demons. While BLEACH has already been translated into seven languages,

this is the first time the story will be presented in English.



"Part Sixth Sense, part Buffy the Vampire Slayer, BLEACH is an exciting,

action packed manga whose artistic style and suspenseful storyline are

sure to develop a captivated following," states Yumi Hoashi, vice

president of SHONEN JUMP. "Certainly the story of ordinary people who

are transformed into demon-slaying ghost hunters is not new to American

audiences, but fans of everything from Blade to Ghostbusters to Vampire

Hunter D should find an affinity for this young boy who goes about

bleaching - literally cleaning up - the afterlife of assorted demons and

evil spirits."





About VIZ, LLC

Founded in 1986, VIZ is a multi-media entertainment company specializing

in Japanese entertainment properties for U.S. audiences. VIZ offers an

integrated product line including magazines, graphic novels, videos,

DVDs and audio soundtracks. VIZ releases over 20 titles every month

including graphic novels for DRAGON BALL Z, FUSHIGI YÛGI, GUNDAM,

HAMTARO, INUYASHA, RANMA 1/2, and YU-GI-OH!; and home video for BOYS

OVER FLOWERS, HAMTARO, INUYASHA, POKéMON, PROJECT ARMS, and ZOIDS. VIZ

also publishes SHONEN JUMP, one of the most popular monthly anthologies

of serialized manga stories in North America.



Based in San Francisco, VIZ is one of the top five comics publishers in

the U.S. and a subsidiary of Shogakukan and Shueisha Inc., two of the

top publishers in Japan. VIZ is the leading publisher of manga for

English speaking audiences, serving a growing market of dedicated fans

of all ages. Estimating a core audience of nearly 15 million fans, the

company holds more than a 50% market share of Japanese comics in the

U.S. With some of the most innovative products in the industry, VIZ has

expanded its offerings to its loyal fans through web sites such as

www.animerica-mag.com, www.shonenjump.com, and its corporate site,

www.viz.com.