VIZ MEDIA LAUNCHES NEON ALLEY ON XBOX 360

Innovative 24/7 Anime Channel Expands To Deliver A Wide Range Of Exclusive Programming for Xbox LIVE Users

San Francisco, CA, Feb. 12, 2013 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, generates even more excitement for its new Neon Alley 24/7 anime platform as it announces the expansion of its proprietary content delivery service to the Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Neon Alley is VIZ Media’s new 24-hour, subscription-based anime channel featuring the world’s best titles (dubbed in English and uncut) and presented in HD (when available) for a low monthly subscription rate of only $6.99. Starting today, Neon Alley can be downloaded directly from the Xbox LIVE^® marketplace for Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers.

Voice control and voice search via Kinect^® for Xbox 360 allows for all new ways to interact with Neon Alley content. For a limited time only, the game console based-service is offering a one-week free trial available to all fans who sign up at NeonAlley.com.

“Neon Alley has forever changed the paradigm for the way anime is delivered to fans, and we are very excited to launch the service to the vast network of Xbox users across North America,” says Brian Ige, Vice President, Animation. “This digital platform will become a must-visit destination for audiences to enjoy a wide range of most-loved anime series and feature films with the ease and format of a traditional 24/7 broadcast channel. This is further augmented with many exclusive feature films and new first-run series premieres that we know will anime fans everywhere will not want to miss!”

Neon Alley’s schedule includes a diverse mix of action, adventure, sci-fi, supernatural, fantasy, and horror anime. Neon Alley carries weekly exclusive episodes of BLUE EXORCIST, INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, LAGRANGE: THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, and TIGER & BUNNY. Fans can catch their favorite blockbuster anime from the beginning, including DEATH NOTE, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, ONE PIECE, VAMPIRE KNIGHT and more. Future premieres include ACCEL WORLD and ZETMAN. Viewers can easily find out what’s showing on Neon Alley with an electronic program guide showing the schedule for the week ahead.

Neon Alley is specially designed to be studio agnostic, featuring titles from other anime producers and content distributors, including Aniplex, FUNimation, NTV, Taiseng, and Anime News Network. Members can also share real-time thoughts and status updates using social media technology from Tout (Tout.com), some of which will air on the network. Neon Alley will continue to unveil more of its programming lineup, special offers, new acquisitions and other partnerships throughout the next several months.

For more information on Neon Alley, please visit www.NeonAlley.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 digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA 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.