VIZ MEDIA CONTINUES TO SPREAD THE POPULARITY OF NARUTO ACROSS LATIN AMERICA

Venerable Ninja Action Adventure Anime Series And Feature Films Attract Legions Of Ardent Fans Across Pan-Latin American Market

San Francisco, CA, December 15, 2015 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, continues to popularize the NARUTO anime franchise throughout Latin America, and has incubated a fervent and growing fan base for the venerable ninja action adventure property.

“NARUTO has become immensely popular internationally and resonates strongly with audiences across Latin America,” says Stephane Hellin, Senior Animation Licensing Manager, Latin America. “The Naruto character’s resilience and determination, combined with the series’ potent mix of action and adventure, have garnered legions of ardent fans and we see significant opportunities to grow the property across the entire region. We look forward to continuing to spread the popularity of the show and to developing additional new markets for NARUTO across Latin America.”

This past summer, VIZ Media premiered the tenth climactic anime feature film in the NARUTO franchise – THE LAST: NARUTO THE MOVIE – on 465 theatre screens across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru. More than 230,000 people attended.

VIZ Media has also licensed the NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime series to an array of prominent Spanish/Portuguese-language national broadcasters as part of its ongoing campaign to localize the series for the Pan-Latin American market. NARUTO SHIPPUDEN is currently syndicated in Brazil on PlayTV, in Chile on Etc.TV, in Columbia on CityTV, and in Nicaragua on TN8. Other Pan-Latin American regional streaming partners include, Claro Video and Netflix

VIZ Media will continue to cultivate the growth of NARUTO across Latin America and plans to add additional broadcast territories next year and also will develop the property for a wide range of officially licensed consumer products across the region.

In the NARUTO manga and animated series, Naruto Uzumaki wants to be the best ninja in the land. He's done well so far, but Naruto knows he must train harder than ever and leaves his village for intense exercises that will push him to his limits. NARUTO SHIPPUDEN begins two and a half years later, when Naruto returns to find that everyone has been promoted up the ninja ranks – except him. Sakura’s a medic ninja, Gaara’s advanced to Kazekage, and Kakashi…well he remains the same. But pride isn’t necessarily becoming of a ninja, especially when Naruto realizes that Sasuke never returned from his search for Orochimaru. Plus, the mysterious Akatsuki organization is still an ever-present danger. As Naruto finds out more about the Akatsuki’s goals, he realizes that nothing in his universe is as it seems. Naruto is finding that he’s older, but will he also prove wiser and stronger?

VIZ Media is the master licensee for NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime series and feature films in North and Latin America territories. Additional information on NARUTO is available at www.Naruto.com.

For more information on manga titles available from 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.

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