VIZ MEDIA WELCOMES RENOWNED NARUTO MANGA CREATOR, MASASHI KISHIMOTO, FOR SPECIAL APPEARANCES AT NEW YORK COMIC CON 2015

Creator Of Bestselling Ninja Action Series Makes His First U.S. Appearance During New York Super Week And Comic Con For Autograph Sessions, Panel Discussions And Theatrical Premiere

San Francisco, CA, September 22, 2015 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, in partnership with The Japan Foundation and ReedPOP, prepares to welcome iconic manga artist Masashi Kishimoto, the renowned creator of the NARUTO manga (graphic novel) saga, for a series of very special appearances during the upcoming 2015 New York Comic Con.

VIZ Media will exhibit at New York Comic Con in Booth #1346 and will offer a wide array of exclusive NARUTO manga and anime products for purchase throughout the convention. In response to overwhelming fan interest, VIZ Media is also pleased to announce the addition of one more autograph session for Masashi Kishimoto on Thursday, October 8^th, at the Javits Center.

Interested NY Comic Con attendees may pick up a raffle ticket at the VIZ Media booth between 10:00am and 1:00pm on Thursday October 8^th for a chance to win 1 of 100 available wristbands to attend the signing later that day. Please visit the VIZ Media booth for the winning ticket drawing time and additional details.

Masashi Kishimoto also complements his first ever U.S. professional appearances with a pair of autograph sessions and in-store appearances during New York Super Week, co-sponsored by the Japan Foundation. These appearances will take place at the Manhattan locations of Kinokuniya Bookstore and Barnes & Noble Tribeca, on October 9^th and 10^th, respectively. Full details are available at: http://www.newyorksuperweek.com.

New York Comic Con is the crown jewel of New York Super Week and takes place October 8-11 at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. Kishimoto will headline a special panel on Thursday, October 8^th focusing on his work and hit manga series, NARUTO. On Saturday, October 11^th, Kishimoto will deliver some opening comments before the highly anticipated North American theatrical premiere of BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE.

Masashi Kishimoto 2015 New York Comic Con Appearances:

VIZ Media Presents: An Evening with Masashi Kishimoto

Thursday, October 8^th, 5:30PM – 6:30PM   

Main Stage 1-D

The creator of the global phenomenon known as Naruto makes his first appearance outside Japan! The legendary Kishimoto Sensei will discuss his career and creative process and answer questions about his work. Attendees will also have a chance to win some very special prizes. This panel of a lifetime is brought to you in partnership with the Japan Foundation.

VIZ Media Presents: BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE Premiere

Saturday, October 10^th, 11:30AM – 2:00PM       

Hammerstein Ballroom – 311 W. 43^th St.

Masashi Kishimoto, creator of Naruto, makes his Executive Producer debut and will introduce the North American English-subtitled premiere of the most anticipated Naruto movie yet! Naruto Uzumaki protects the Hidden Leaf Village as the 7^th Hokage, while Boruto, his troublesome son resents his father's responsibilities that take his time away from him. Seeing this, Sasuke takes Boruto under his wing, while Sasuke's only daughter, Sarada, dreams of being Hokage one day. This panel of a lifetime is brought to you in partnership with the Japan Foundation.

Come early - the first 100 attendees in line for BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE will get to attend a special Saturday signing session at 10am with Masashi Kishimoto!

Masashi Kishimoto 2015 New York Super Week Appearances:

Masashi Kishimoto Kinokuniya Signing Event         

Friday, Oct. 9^th, 8:30pm       

Kinokuniya Book Store, 1073 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10018

Meet Masashi Kishimoto, creator of NARUTO, the best-selling manga series that inspired a generation of fans around the world and spawned hit anime series, movies, video games, novels and more. This event is an extremely rare opportunity to see the legendary Kishimoto in his first public appearances outside of Japan.

All participants must secure a SuperWeek event ticket. NARUTO Volume 72, featuring an exclusive New York Comic Con variant cover drawn by Kishimoto, will be available for purchase. Attendees will receive a free autographed Shikishi art board with purchase of one of Kishimoto’s works. (*Note: Kishimoto will only sign the provided shikishi and on-site purchased book.)

Masashi Kishimoto Barnes & Noble Tribeca Signing Event        

Saturday, Oct. 10^th, 3:30pm

Barnes & Noble Tribeca, 97 Warren St., New York, NY 10007

Masashi Kishimoto makes his second appearance for New York Super Week at the Barnes & Noble Tribeca location. This signing will be limited to the first 110 customers that purchase one of Kishimoto’s works the day of the event; NARUTO Volume 72 featuring an exclusive New York Comic Con variant cover drawn by Kishimoto will also be available for purchase at this venue. Each person will receive an exclusive shikishi art board signed personally signed by the artist. (*Note: Kishimoto will only sign the provided shikishi and on-site purchased book.)

Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in rural Okayama Prefecture, Japan. His first version of NARUTO, drawn in 1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits; his final version, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in the world. The series spawned multiple anime series, movies, novels, video games and more. Having concluded the series in late 2014, he has kept himself busy with the side-story Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring and with writing the story for the latest Naruto movie, both of which will focus on the title character’s son, Boruto. The NARUTO manga series is published in North America by VIZ Media.

For more information on NARUTO manga and anime titles published by VIZ Media, please visit VIZ.com/naruto.

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.

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NARUTO © 1999 by Masashi Kishimoto/SHUEISHA Inc.