VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES PRE-SALE ORDERS FOR NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BLOOD PRISON

Naruto Battles To Regain His Honor In A New Action Packed Ninja Feature Film Debuting In Early 2014 On DVD And Blu-ray

San Francisco, CA, November 12, 2013 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has announced that presale orders are now being accepted for its latest NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime feature film. NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BLOOD PRISON will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 18^th, 2014. Presale orders are available at select retailers. The movie will also be released the same day in a Download-to-Own edition; platform information is forthcoming.

The latest domestic home video release of the venerable ninja action property carries a rating of TV-14, a DVD MSRP of $19.98 U.S. / $24.98 CAN and Blu-ray MSRP of $24.98 U.S. / $27.50 CAN. Each version also contains a special full-color variant O-card that will have different artwork than what is featured on the actual Amaray cases.

Bonus material for the DVD and Blu-ray editions includes a special animated short film, Chunin Exam on Fire! Naruto vs. Konohamaru!, as well as a production art gallery and the original Japanese theatrical trailers. The Blu-ray edition additionally features a video message from NARUTO creator Masashi Kishimoto and an interview with Junko Takeuchi, the Japanese voice of Naruto Uzumaki.

In his new adventure, Naruto is convicted of a serious crime he didn’t commit and is sent to the inescapable prison, Hozuki Castle. The warden, Mui, quickly seals away Naruto’s chakra to prevent him from rebelling. Refusing to give up, Naruto plans his escape while also befriending his fellow inmates Ryuzetsu and Maroi. But he can't help but wonder what their ulterior motives are...

“In this exciting new film release, the world’s most popular ninja is falsely sent to a notorious prison for attempting to assassinate the Raikage, the leader of the Hidden Cloud Village, and fans are invited to secure their copies now during this preorder period,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Manager, Animation Marketing. “Someone is out to end Naruto’s life and he will have to stay alive long enough to prove his innocence and uncover the truth before time runs out for him and his friends!”

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, NARUTO was first introduced in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999 and quickly became that country’s most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens. The manga series (rated ‘T’ for Teens, in print and digital editions) and animated counterpart (NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN both rated ‘TV-14’) are some of VIZ Media’s most successful properties and have captivated millions of fans across North America, Europe and South America.

Subtitled episodes of the NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime series may be streamed on the company’s own VIZAnime.com and Hulu. In addition, Download-To-Own dubbed episodes are available for purchase through iTunes^®, PlayStation^®Network, Xbox Live^®, Amazon Instant Video, and the Google Play store.

To read a free chapter 1 preview of the NARUTO manga series, please visit http://www.vizmanga.com/naruto.

Additional information on NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN is available at www.Naruto.com.

For more information on VIZ Media anime properties, please visit www.viz.com/anime.

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 anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP 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.

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