VIZ MEDIA OFFERS AN EMOTIONAL MIX OF THE REAL AND IMAGINARY IN THE DEBUT OF

TAIYO MATSUMOTO’S GOGO MONSTER

New Manga Release Blends Bold Art And A Clever Story Of A Young Boy Who Tries To Balance His Own Lonely World With a Fantastic Supernatural Realm Only He Can See

San Francisco, CA, November 10, 2009 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the upcoming release of Taiyo Matsumoto’s celebrated manga GOGO MONSTER on November 17^th. GOGO MONSTER will be published by the company’s VIZ Signature imprint, rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $27.99 U.S. / $36.00 CAN.

Third grader Yuki Tachibana lives in two worlds. In one world, he is a loner ridiculed by his classmates and reprimanded by his teachers for telling stories of supernatural beings that only he can see. In the other world, the supernatural beings vie for power with malevolent spirits who bring chaos into the school, the students' lives, and even nature itself.

“Taiyo Matsumoto’s clever stories and striking art have placed him among the best of a new generation of influential manga artists and we are privileged to present GOGO MONSTER to U.S. audiences,” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media. “This story continues to show Matsumoto’s fascination with youth as he seamlessly blends themes of alienation with the paranormal.  For anyone with an overactive imagination or has even just daydreamed during class, GOGO MONSTER offers an emotional tale that shows how what we see and imagine, whether real or imaginary, shapes our personality in profound ways.”

Taiyo Matsumoto made his manga debut in the Japanese magazine Comic Afternoon with the short story STRAIGHT. He went on to travel throughout France and became heavily influenced by the French comics he studied there including those created by pioneering European artists like Moebius and Enki Bilal. Matsumoto has become internationally acclaimed for stories that capture the essence of disaffected youth and adolescent alienation. His other notable works include BLUE SPRING, NO. 5 and TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE, which are all published in North America by VIZ Media. TEKKONKINKREET won a prestigious Will Eisner Award in 2008 and was also adapted for an animated feature film. Another Matsumoto manga story, PING PONG, was turned into an award-winning live action film that is available from VIZ Pictures.

For more information on other VIZ Signature titles please visit www.VizSignature.com and www.Sigikki.com.

 Between September 1st and November 30th, 2009, the Japan National Tourism Organization will be sending one lucky person to Japan in 2010. All you have to do to enter is submit an essay up to 2010 characters long or submit a photo with a 201-character caption. Both should tell or show why you want to go to Japan. For more information, please visit http://www.japantravelinfo.com/2010/win.html.

In honor of Super J-Rock Band, GLAY performing in California, Anime 3000 will be giving away (2) tickets to see them in concert. In order to be eligible for this contest, you need to be a registered member of our website. Once you're registered, leave us a voice mail detailing why we should pick you as our contest winner. We will make our announcement on our site once we've picked our winner.  Call us and leave a voice mail: (954) 903-0811. Make sure you let us know why we should pick you as well as an email address where we can get more details if you're chosen.

San Francisco, CA, August 24, 2009– VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the North American debut of the new steampunk/action manga series TEGAMI BACHI: LETTER BEE on September 1^st. The series, rated ‘T’ for Teens, will be published under the company’s SHONEN JUMP imprint and will carry an MSRP of $7.99 U.S. / $9.50 CAN.

In a land of perpetual night, your heart is your light.

Amberground is locked in darkness. A man-made star casts only a dim light over the land. The pitch-black wilderness is infested with Gaichuu--colossal insects with metal exoskeletons. The Gaichuu make travel between the cities of Amberground extremely dangerous. But thankfully the Letter Bees, a brave corps of messengers, risk their lives in order to keep the hearts of Amberground connected.