Many prizes and thingies here at VIZ! Sorry I’m late. But they’ve talked about how they’re giving out pamphlets (panfuretto) along with the Naruto and Bleach movies, translated versions of the ones they give out in Japan. The third Naruto movie is coming out on DVD November 11th and includes a featurette about Naruto growing up.

The first Hunter x Hunter season box set is coming out December 9th. First Death Note box set is also coming out in December, and that’s it for anime.

Moving on to events…the 40th anniversary of Weekly Jump is coming up so you can win a trip to JUMP Festa starting July 11th at this page.

Now we’re at manga! Cat-Eyed Boy, One Pound Gospel, Real, Slam Dunk, Solanin…they mention that they’re trying to bring over series for slightly older readers these days. Black Lagoon (woohoo!), Vagabond…

There are collector’s edition box sets coming out of manga like Naruto and Death Note, and there’s also a 5th anniversary collector’s edition issue of Shonen Jump, including some of the best content from the first five years of the magazine, plus some other fun stuff and a hard cover, all $24.99.

We’ll be moving on to 2009 announcements now…some of which may not be new, but mostly are new, so I’ll just throw them all out there and let you guys enjoy ‘em.

Starting off is Oishinbo, the “Grand-daddy of all food manga,” whose 102nd volume just came out in Japan. VIZ will not put out all 102 volumes but they’ll pull together the “a la carte” editions, stand-alone volumes from the series. This isn’t new, but is still awesome. Looks like eight volumes? I may have lost count.

Fushigi Yugi is getting into the VIZ BIG line for an omnibus edition. Along with Hot Gimmick BIG, they’ll have some bonus materials, color pages, etc.

Heavens Will by Satoru Takamiya…Magic Touch, a massage manga (….) by Izumi somebody (probably Izumi Tsubaki’s Romance from the Thumb, thanks Astraea!), I couldn’t read the last name. Why am I so far from the screen? Lame.

Otomen by Aya Kanno is going to hit stores on January 12. From the creator of Hot Gimmick, Miki Aihara, comes Honey Hunt, due out in March.

Whoa! Gestalt, from Yun Kouga, an interesting gender-bending series that I never expected to hear of again after the short, unfinished anime OVA.

Now we’re moving into gifts for people who took a survey– MangaCast’s Ed just won a Naruto DVD. Heh.

Q&As now: new plans for Fullmetal Alchemist? Nope, none! Just chuggin’ out the manga.

Why does Johnny Yong Bosch get a role in all of their anime? Because he can kick their butts! But no really, they say it’s ’cause he’s a good voice actor. (The butt-kicking was their joke too, btw.)

More theatrical releases? Yes, definitely, especially for Naruto and Bleach movies. More actual theaters? They hope to keep growing the theater list.

Is there a reason for certain Bobobo volumes to not be published? Yes, but they don’t remember what it is…huh.

Any Wingman releases in the US? They’ll think about it. Anything for a 10+ rating for youngsters at libraries? Yes, VIZ is hoping to do a lot more all-ages stuff, and the Legend of Zelda manga they picked up is going to be all-ages. Any more full novel translations like Battle Royale? Yes, but no specific announcements at this time.

Why no booth? (”You miss us, don’t you?” Uh oh.) They’re a small staff, hard to get people out here while also getting work done in the office, etc. (”Ask for volunteers!”) A question about volume 11 of some series but I didn’t catch which, but no announcements currently.

Back on all ages, any Doraemon possibilities? They’re definitely considering the best way to release Doraemon here. They’re also doing a lot more Pokemon stuff. Someone’s asking about whether the censorship that occurs in Shonen Jump also happens in the graphic novel versions, the answer being: sometimes there is a difference between the manga and the tankobon. So…”sometimes.” The magazine tends to be more conservative.

Question about FUNimation’s acquisition of Geneon titles and VIZ “has no announcements on that right now.” Are they going to release Yu-Gi-Oh R any time soon? Not on the schedule currently. But Yu-Gi-Oh GX 2 is coming out this November.

“Can you ask Fox not to make the Dragon Ball Z movie suck, ’cause no one takes it seriously? Thank you!” No response from the panel. Any intentions of putting Hunter x Hunter and other serial anime on Toonami or other channels? Not the panelists’ expertise, but they try to get as much on TV as possible.

Any plans for the Aishiteruze Baby anime? Not yet. Is there any child-molesting in Gestalt (implied: like in Loveless)? All the characters are of-age and it’s rated T+, not M. Are they going to put a subtitle track for signs into their DVDs? Judging from the blank faces, not now, but they’ll talk to the video department.

More of Full Moon (wo Sagashite) coming out? Not currently on the schedule. On live-action, that’s all the sister company, VIZ Pictures, and blah blah blah Death Note and some stuff (i.e. no new licenses). Soundtracks, especially for Naruto– any plans to bring them over, in a domestic release? They’re workin’ on it because they love the music too.

Someone just asked if they’re going to license the Claymore anime, but it’s already licensed by FUNimation…are they ever going to finish off the anime since the manga’s over? They’re currently finishing up season seven and they’re definitely finishing the manga.

Are they considering bringing out josei, older girls’ manga, since Shojo Beat was originally supposed to be ~17+? The fan also recs Midnight Secretary by Ohmi Tomu. Any shot at Cat’s Eye manga? They’re jotting down all the names and saying “not at this time!”

Looks like we’re finally winding down to the last few askers, and good timing since Dark Horse is due out here in just a few minutes. For their anniversary, I might add, yay!

How’s the Nana anime coming along? Blank stares. “Coming along…very well…” No cast announcements yet though. Last question: any plans for the Monster anime? They are planning to release it but no dates yet. Also nothing on 20th Century Boys yet. Okay, NOW the last question…are they licensing the second part of Blue Dragon, and the panelists think that they’re planning to do it.

El fin, the end, time for Dark Horse!

Tags: ax08, liveblogging, viz-media

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