VIZ MEDIA FIRES THE IMAGINATIONS OF YOUNGER FANS AND READERS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WITH NEW LEGEND OF ZELDA, MAMESHIBA AND POKÉMON RELEASES

San Francisco, CA, November 16, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has plenty to delight even the youngest manga (graphic novel) and anime fans this holiday season with a variety of new releases from VIZ KIDS to fill young minds with wonder and fire imaginations with fun adventures with characters from POKÉMON, MAMESHIBA and THE LEGEND OF ZELDA.

This year, VIZ Media highlights THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Manga Box Set, which celebrates the series’ 25^th Anniversary and bundles all 10 volumes of the fantasy action manga adventure series based on the hit Nintendo video game. MAMESHIBA will delight young readers with adorable characters in a winter-themed story and pop-out play scene. The timeless fun of POKÉMON is also well-represented this holiday season with the DVD release of the latest feature film, POKÉMON – ZOROARK: MASTER OF ILLUSIONS, as well as a POKÉMON DIAMOND AND PEARL ADVENTURE! Manga Box Set, and much, much more!

Manga Gift Releases:

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Manga Box Set · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $69.99 U.S. / $80.99 CAN · Available Now! 

The box set contains all 10 volumes of THE LEGEND OF ZELDA manga series and a collectible poster. THE LEGEND OF ZELDA takes place in the mystical land of Hyrule, where three spiritual stones hold the key to the Triforce. Whoever holds them will control the world. A boy named Link sets out on a quest to deliver the Emerald, the spiritual stone of the forest, to Zelda, Princess of the land of Hyrule. The journey will be long and perilous, and Link will need all his skill and courage to defeat evil. The battle for Hyrule and the Sacred Realm has begun!

MAMESHIBA ♥ WINTER · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN · Available Now! 

It's a BEAN! It's a DOG! It's... BOTH?! Not quite one or the other – they're Mameshiba, cute little bean dogs with their own personalities and strange facts to share.

When it's cold and snowy, Mameshiba are ready to play! The clever beans are building a snow castle, and you can join in the fun! With MAMESHIBA ♥ WINTER  you can decorate the snowy scenes with stickers and play around the castle with your very own Mameshiba figures. Plus, keep the beans warm by dressing them up in winter gear!

POKÉMON – ZOROARK: MASTER OF ILLUSIONS · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $7.99 U.S. / $9.99 CAN · Available Now! 

Ash and Pikachu travel to Crown City to watch the Pokémon Baccer World Cup competition, but it’s not all fun and games. The powerful Pokémon Zoroark has attacked! Ash and his friends must solve an old mystery before they can stop Zoroark and save the people of Crown City!

POKÉMON BLACK & WHITE, Vol. 4 · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $4.99 U.S. / $5.99 CAN · Available Now! 

Meet Pokémon Trainers Black and White! His entire life, Black has dreamed of winning the Pokémon League! Now he embarks on a journey to explore the Unova region and fill a Pokédex for Professor Juniper. White has an exciting career as the Trainer of a talented troupe of performing Pokémon. She dreams of making her Tepig Gigi a star! Together, Black and White continue on their journey... What surprising new Pokémon – and people – will they meet next?!

POKÉMON DIAMOND & PEARL ADVENTURE! Manga Box Set · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $59.99 U.S. / $67.99 CAN · Available Now! 

Contains all 8 volumes of the POKÉMON DIAMOND & PEARL ADVENTURE! series and a collectible poster. Most kids spend their days at school, but not Hareta. Raised in the wild by Pokémon, he can climb as high as an Aipom, swim as fast as a Magikarp, and even eat bark like a Bidoof! Recruited by Professor Rowan, Hareta decides to become a Pokémon Trainer. Along with his first Pokémon, Piplup, and his new friend Mitsumi, he sets off in search of the legendary Pokémon Dialga. But Team Galactic is hunting for Dialga too. Can Hareta and Piplup defeat Team Galactic and stop their evil plans?

POKÉMON MAGNET PLAY BOOK · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $8.99 U.S. / $10.99 CAN · Available Now! 

Now children of all ages can have their own adventures in the Unova Region! This book includes eight magnets that can be used in the book or on any other magnet-friendly surface, featuring Oshawott, Snivy, Tepig, Pikachu, Axew, Pansage, Reshiram and Zekrom.

Anime Gift Releases:

POKÉMON – ZOROARK: MASTER OF ILLUSIONS DVD · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $19.98 U.S. / CAN · Available Now! 

As Ash and his friends journey to Crown City to join the crowds watching the Pokémon Baccer World Cup, mysterious forces are in motion that could bring untold misfortune to them all! What secrets does Zorua, a Pokémon they befriend along the way, hide? Why is the powerful Zoroark rampaging through the city, and what does the appearance of the Legendary Pokémon Raikou, Entei, and Suicune mean? All these questions and more will be answered in POKÉMON—ZOROARK: MASTER OF ILLUSIONS! 

POKÉMON DP GALACTIC BATTLES DVD Gift Set, Vol. 4 · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $24.92 U.S. / $24.98 CAN · Available November 22^nd 

The DVD gift set contains POKÉMON DP GALACTIC BATTLES Vols. 7-8! When it comes to Pokémon, the more, the merrier:  two new friends have joined Ash, Dawn, and Brock on their Sinnoh journey!  Together, they’ll chase a rogue Gible and face off in a tag battle. Before long, however, things take a turn for the worse as Team Galactic and Pokémon Hunter J return with a vengeance. Now Team Galactic is poised to achieve its ultimate goal: summoning the Legendary Dialga and Palkia in order to destroy the world! Are Ash and his friends ready to face the biggest Galactic battle of all?

For more information on these and other titles available from VIZ Media’s VIZ KIDS imprint, please visit www.VIZKids.com or www.VIZ.comwww.VIZ.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular monthly manga anthology SHONEN JUMP magazine and blockbuster properties like Naruto, Bleach and InuYasha, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.