Friday, January 29, 2016

VIZ MEDIA DELIVERS A BRAND NEW NARUTO NOVEL TO READERS WITH THE DEBUT OF NARUTO: SHIKAMARU’S STORY

New Novel Is The Second Release In A New Series Focusing On Key Characters From Masashi Kishimoto’s Smash Hit Ninja Action Series, NARUTO

San Francisco, CA, January 28, 2016 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, delivers the next release in a continuing series of NARUTO prose novels focusing on key characters from the internationally acclaimed ninja action series.

NARUTO: SHIKAMARU’S STORY was written by author Takashi Yano and will be released in print and digitally in early February. The book tells the story of the current head of Team 10 and the Nara Clan and features original cover art by Masashi Kishimoto. Allies and enemies from the famed NARUTO series take center stage in these fast-paced adventures, with each novel focusing on a particular clan mate, ally, team…or villain

NARUTO: SHIKAMARU’S STORY
MSRP: $10.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN / $6.99 Digital · Available February 2nd
Two years after the Great Ninja War, Shikamaru spends his days racing around, hands full as one of Konoha’s key protectors. Then, large numbers of ninja from every region are reported missing. Even Sai disappears. And the place where the missing shinobi end up is the mysterious empire, the Land of Silence. As a ninja, as an adult, to protect all that he is responsible for, Shikamaru must do battle with the shadow of a new generation.

Also don’t miss NARUTO: KAKASHI’S STORY, the first book in the series of NARUTO novels, available now in print and also digitally.

Manga author/artist Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in rural Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Like many kids, he was first inspired to become a manga artist in elementary school when he read Dragon Ball. After spending time in art school, he won the Hop Step Award for new manga artists with his story, Karakuri. After considering various genres for his next project, Kishimoto decided on a story steeped in traditional Japanese culture. His first version of NARUTO, drawn in 1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits; his final version, which debuted in Japan in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in the world. The series would also spawn multiple anime series, movies, novels, video games and more. Having concluded the series in late 2014, Masashi Kishimoto has kept himself busy this year with the side story, Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, and writing the story for the latest NARUTO movie, Boruto: Naruto the Movie, both of which focus on the title character's son, Boruto.

VIZ Media is the North American master licensor for NARUTO and publishes the bestselling NARUTO manga series in print and digitally and also distributes the NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime series and feature films. Additional information on NARUTO is available at www.Naruto.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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NARUTO SHIKAMARU-HIDEN YAMI NO SHIJIMA NI UKABU KUMO © 2015 by Masashi Kishimoto, Takashi Yano/SHUEISHA Inc.

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