LATEST VOLUME OF BLUE EXORCIST DEBUTS ON VIZ MANGA DIGITAL PLATFORM MORE THAN

3 MONTHS AHEAD OF PRINT EDITION

VIZ Media invites manga (graphic novel) fans across North America to join True Cross Academy’s crack team of demon hunters for a brand new adventure in Volume 8 of the smash hit series – BLUE EXORCIST – on the VIZ Manga digital platform. The latest volume launches digitally than 3 months ahead of the print counterpart’s debut on November 6^th!

BLUE EXORCIST Volume 8 is available now for immediate digital download for only $4.99 through VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga app for the Apple iPad^®, iPhone^® and iPod^® touch and for all Android-enabled smart phones. The new volume is also available from the NOOK Store™ for the Barnes & Noble NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet. 

BLUE EXORCIST (rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) is a paranormal action/adventure series created by Kazue Kato and published in North America by VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump Advanced imprint. Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. One day a fateful argument with Father Fujimoto forces Rin to face a terrible truth – the blood of the demon lord Satan runs in Rin’s veins! Rin swears to defeat Satan, but doing that means entering the mysterious True Cross Academy and becoming an exorcist himself. Can Rin fight the demons and keep his infernal bloodline a secret? It won't be easy, especially when drawing his father’s sword releases the demonic power within him!

In Volume 8, awakened by the traitor Saburota Todo, the Impure King’s massive form threatens to engulf the entire city of Kyoto. As the Exorcists of the Tokyo Branch and the monks of the Myodha temple do all they can to contain the demon, Rin and his friends find themselves separated and each faces their own deadly battle. The action intensifies as Rin and Ryuji race to confront the full might of the Impure King while Yukio singlehandedly takes on Todo and discovers that he may be his own worst enemy!

Manga creator, writer and illustrator Kazue Kato won the prestigious Tezuka Award when she was only 19 for her work, Rabbit And I, published in Japan in Akamaru Jump magazine. From 2005 to 2006 her series, Robo to Usakichi, a sci-fi adventure featuring a rabbit (again!), was published in the monthly magazine Shonen Sirius (Kodansha). Her latest manga series, BLUE EXORCIST, debuted in Jump Square magazine in April of 2009. Kazue Kato has used a rabbit as a self-portrait in her author’s notes and her works often have some relation to rabbits.

VIZ Media’s innovative digital manga applications allow for universal access for fans for reading manga from their iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android-enabled smartphones, as well as VIZManga.com for desktop/laptop computers and Android-powered devices with built-in web browsers. With one account, registered users are able to view their purchases across even more devices than ever.

The VIZ Manga App is available for free through the iTunes Store and the Google Play Store, and all manga volumes are generally available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada within the application for $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) per volume. More than 80 series and 700 volumes are currently available for download. Download the free VIZ Manga App for at www.VIZ.com/apps.

For more information on BLUE EXORCIST and other titles from Shonen Jump Advanced, please visit: www.ShonenJump.com.