U.S. producer of anime and manga Viz Communications, Inc. has partnered with manga publisher Shueisha Inc. to launch a new mass-market boys' magazine. Viz currently produces Japanese animation and comics in English with over 20 monthly titles. The new monthly magazine, to be launched in November 2002, will be patterned after Shueisha's magazine SHONEN JUMP and will feature the manga from which many of the world's most popular anime properties such as DRAGON BALL Z and YU-GI-OH were derived. "U.S. kids know all about anime due to exposure on television," said Yamaji. "They don't know that most of today's most popular anime properties originated as manga. We are thrilled to be bringing these properties to the U.S. market in their original format, and to be introducing the hottest new properties from Japan."