VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES PLANS AND ACTIVITES FOR 2015 ANIME EXPO

A Wide Variety Of Special Guest Appearances, Panel Discussions, Autograph Sessions And Exclusive And Pre-Street Items Highlight VIZ Media’s Presence At The Nation’s Largest Anime Convention

San Francisco, CA, June 18, 2015 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, prepares for the nation’s largest dedicated anime convention, Anime Expo, with an exciting array of special guest appearances, panel discussions, autograph sessions, promotional giveaways and a variety of exclusive and pre-street items that will be available for purchase.

The 2015 Anime Expo takes place July 2^nd–5^th at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles. Tickets and full details are available at: www.anime-expo.org. VIZ Media will be located on the main convention floor in Booth #811.

VIZ Media is honored to welcome manga creator Julietta Suzuki as a special Guest of Honor. Suzuki is the creator of the acclaimed shojo manga series, KAMISAMA KISS. During Anime Expo, she will be among the artists to have original manga artwork prominently displayed in the VIZ Media booth to commemorate the 10^th Anniversary of the company’s Shojo Beat imprint. She also will participate in an informative panel discussion and appear for a pair of autograph sessions. Copies of KAMISAMA KISS (Vols. 1, 18) also will be available for purchase in the VIZ Media booth.

Shojo fans will not want to miss a visit to the VIZ Media booth to enjoy a special exhibit of original manga artwork from more than 40 top titles and creators that are published under the Shojo Beat imprint such as Arina Tanemura (IDOL DREAMS), Yuki Midorikawa (NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS), Yun Kouga (CROWN OF THORNS), Miko Mitsuki (HONEY BLOOD), Go Ikeyamada (SO CUTE IT HURTS!), Tomu Ohmi (SPELL OF DESIRE) and many more!

Join VIZ Media and the guardians of love and justice to celebrate the legendary action fantasy anime series with SAILOR MOON Day on Friday, July 3^rd. Meet the voice cast at an exclusive autograph session in the Anime Expo autograph area and for a photo opportunity at the VIZ Media booth. Also catch all the latest SAILOR MOON news in the official panel discussion set for Friday morning, official fan/cosplay gathering, and the World Dub Premiere of the first 2 episodes of SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL later that afternoon.

The VIZ Media retail area will offer a variety of must-have Anime Expo convention exclusives including:

·         ONE PIECE Exclusive Manga Replicas: $15

·         NARUTO Exclusive Manga Replicas: $15

·         WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Annual Digital Subscription: $25

o   Includes exclusive Game Mat and Collectible Yearbook (featuring NARUTO) and an exclusive YU-GI-OH! Promo Card: Frightfur Tiger!

·         JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE Exclusive 3D Poster: $25

·         SAILOR MOON R Part 1 Limited Edition Combo Pack, prestreet with a gift with purchase: $65

·         2015 SAILOR MOON R T-Shirt Exclusive - Ladies and Unisex Styles: $15.each 

·         MY HERO ACADEMIA Vol. 1 Manga Pre-street: $10

·         THE DEMON PRINCE OF MOMOCHI HOUSE Vol. 1 Manga Pre-street: $10

·         MAID-SAMA! 2-in-1 Vol. 1 Manga Pre-street: $15

·         Summer 2015 exclusive gift with purchase - Limited Edition VIZ Media tote bags featuring favorite characters and offered in 3 different designs

o   SHONEN JUMP (double-sided featuring Luffy and Naruto)

o   SAILOR MOON

o   THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

Other fun activities taking place at the VIZ Media booth will include:

·         Shojo Beat Prize Wheel

Celebrate Shojo Beat’s 10^th anniversary and try your luck at our prize wheel for a chance to win a Shojo Beat 10^th Anniversary Calendar, as well as exclusive goodies from Japan!

·         SAILOR MOON Tiara Giveaway & Quest for the Time Key

Sailor Moon needs your help! Grab your SAILOR MOON tiara from the VIZ Media booth to begin your mission to re-awaken the Guardian’s memories,  then get the Time Key and save New Crystal Tokyo from certain doom! Interspersed between Time Key quests, fans can take a short survey SAILOR MOON, get a poster, and enter to win a SAILOR MOON prize pack!

·         Poster Giveaway

Sign up for VIZ Media email newsletters, and get a TOKYO GHOUL poster!

Please check the daily booth schedule for activity times.

VIZ Media Anime Expo Panels & Special Events Include:

Thursday, July 2^nd

1:15 – 2:45pm    VIZ Media Panel (Room LP1)

Come party with VIZ Media and listen to thrilling tales of upcoming releases and other Earth-shattering announcements from North America's largest distributor of manga and anime! Warning: panel may include trivia, prizes, yelling and probably some clapping.

Friday, July 3^nd

10:00am – 12:00pm    OFFICAL SAILOR MOON PANEL (Room LP1)

Join VIZ Media as well as Official English cast members from the legendary series and start off a magical day of SAILOR MOON activities! Everyone attending will receive a special treat while supplies last.

12:00pm – 1:00pm      SHONEN JUMP: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

(Room LP5)

Hang out with the English-language editors of the world's most popular manga, plus special surprise guests! Plus a chance to win amazing prizes by showing off your SJ trivia skills.

2:00pm – 3:30pm        SAILOR MOON OFFICIAL DUB CAST AUTOGRAPH 

SESSION    (Anime Expo Autograph Area)

Meet the English voice cast of SAILOR MOON and get your free, premium poster signed!

3:45pm – 4pm             SAILOR MOON OFFICIAL DUB CAST PHOTO OP        (VIZ Media Booth)

Fans can take photos of the talented new Official English voice cast for SAILOR MOON with the Sailor Guardian cosplayers from American Cosplay Paradise in a special session!

4:30pm                         JULIETTA SUZUKI AUTOGRAPH SESSION 

(Anime Expo Autograph Area)

Meet Julietta Suzuki, the creator of KAMISAMA KISS and get a free art card signed. Tickets for this special signing will be distributed at 8AM in the morning from the Anime Expo Autograph Ticket Booth in West Hall.

4:30 pm                        SAILOR MOON OFFICIAL FAN COSPLAY GATHERING           (Video 1 / JW Marriott Platinum Ballroom)

Dress in your Sailor Guardian or Villain best to show your SAILOR MOON team spirit as well as have a chance to be part of upcoming SAILOR MOON extra features! Fans attending in cosplay will receive a special treat as well as a chance to win some cool prizes!

6:00 pm – 7pm            SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL ENGLISH DUB PREMIERE  (Video 1 / JW Marriott Platinum Ballroom)

The world premiere dub for SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL will be unveiled at this special screening of Episodes 1 and 2! A free goodie will be provided to attendees, while supplies last!

Saturday, July 4^th

10:15am – 11:15pm    OFFICIAL SHOJO BEAT PANEL (Room LP2)

Celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Shojo Beat manga with us! Bring your burning questions and find out what’s coming up in the future.

11:10AM                       JULIETTA SUZUKI AUTOGRAPH SESSION 

(Anime Expo Autograph Area)

Meet Julietta Suzuki, the creator of KAMISAMA KISS and get a free art card signed. Pick up a ticket for this event at 8AM in the morning from the Anime Expo Autograph Ticket Booth in West Hall.

2:00pm – 3:00pm        ANIME EXPO PRESENTS JULIETTA SUZUKI

(Petree Hall / LP2)

Join the creator of KAMISAMA KISS, Julietta Suzuki in her first-ever international appearance. Learn about her beginnings as a manga creator and her creative process.

4:00pm – 5:00pm        VIZ ANIMATION

(Room 408AB / LP3)

Find out all that's new and awesome with the VIZ Animation team! We'll be talking about upcoming releases, share some announcements and tell you all about our free streaming anime!

Finally, don’t forget to check the Anime Expo screening schedule for a variety of VIZ Media anime titles including showings of BLEACH, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, NARUTO THE MOVIE: ROAD TO NINJA, TIGER & BUNNY Feature Films (THE BEGINNING and THE RISING), RANMA ½ and SAILOR MOON and SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL.

For more information on VIZ Media, please visit www.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 digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, 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.