VIZ MEDIA’S PERFECT SQUARE IMPRINT ACQUIRES POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y MANGA SERIES

New All-Ages Manga Adventure Inspired By The Latest Generation of Pokémon Video Games Join an Expansive Catalog Of POKÉMON Manga Titles Published In North America

San Francisco, CA, June 4, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has announced the acquisition of the domestic publishing and digital media rights for the POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y manga (graphic novel) series. The manga is based on the Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video games, which launched globally for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems in October 2013.

The new release will launch the latest story arc for the popular entertainment property and joins VIZ Media’s expansive catalog of POKÉMON manga and anime titles. The POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y series is rated ‘A’ for All Ages and will debut its first volume in print and digitally in December under the company’s Perfect Square imprint. Future volumes of the series, which is also ongoing in Japan, will be published twice yearly.

POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y is written by Hidenori Kusaka with artwork by Satoshi Yamamoto. As the new Champion of the Pokémon Battle Junior Tournament in the Kalos region, X is hailed as a child prodigy. But when all the media attention proves to be too much for him, he holes up in his room to hide from everyone, including his best friends. What will it take to get him to come out?! How about an attack on his hometown of Vaniville Town by the two new Legendary Pokémon, Xerneas and Yveltal, and a mysterious organization named Team Flare…?

“We are proud to expand our Perfect Square manga catalog with the acquisition of POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y and its positively themed story, dynamic characters and fun cast of new Pokémon that is sure to delight young as well as adult readers,” says Annette Roman, Editor. “We look forward to fans discovering the new series later this year!”

POKÉMON is one of the most successful international entertainment franchises of all time. More than 255 million POKÉMON video game titles and 20 billion Pokémon Trading Cards have been sold to-date worldwide. Pokémon the Series: XY marked the 17^th season of POKÉMON animation and launched in the U.S. on Cartoon Network in January 2014. VIZ Media and its Perfect Square imprint are the official North American publishers of a variety of popular POKÉMON manga graphic novel series such as POKÉMON ADVENTURES, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: DIAMOND & PEARL, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: HEART/GOLD SOUL/SILVER, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: BLACK & WHITE as well as a variety of POKÉMON animated feature films.

VIZ Media’s Perfect Square imprint focuses on delivering original comics, manga (graphic novels) and other all ages’ books with an emphasis on strong storytelling, eye-popping graphics, empowering themes, and a dash of irreverence, that captures the imagination of a whole new generation.

Additional information on titles published by Perfect Square is available at www.PerfectSquare.com.

For more information on other manga titles 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, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. With its popular digital manga 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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