VIZ Media LLC has an array of animated properties it plans to showcase at the 2008 National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) Conference and Exhibition, taking place Jan. 28-31, in Las Vegas. VIZ Media will operate from Suites 7904 and 7906 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, where the conference will be held.
"Japanese animation fulfills a variety of critical programming needs and VIZ Media continues to be a major force in licensing compelling content designed for every viewer demographic," says William Germain, Director, Animation Production, VIZ Media. "This year's NATPE Conference will present the opportunity to showcase new action properties aimed at tweens, adolescents and young adults with properties such as BUSO RENKIN, HUNTER X HUNTER, BLUE DRAGON, and NAOKI URUSAWA's MONSTER, and will also feature more romantically-themed titles like NANA and HONEY AND CLOVER, which will extend the popularity of shojo manga, or comics for girls, to the broadcast arena. The interest in Japanese animation continues to be strong from broadcasters both domestically and abroad, as witnessed by the popularity of shows like NARUTO, DEATH NOTE and BLEACH, and we look forward to welcoming a global audience of key buyers and executives at this year's conference."
VIZ's lineup includes:
NANAAuthor: Ai Yazawa - Broadcast runtime: 30min - 50 EpisodesRating: TV 14 (Anticipated)
BUSO RENKINAuthor: Nobuhiro Watsuki - Broadcast runtime: 30 min - 26 EpisodesRating: TV 14 (Anticipated)
HUNTER X HUNTERAuthor: Yoshihiro Togashi - Broadcast runtime: 30 min - 62 EpisodesRating: TV 14 (Anticipated)
NAOKI URUSAWA'S MONSTERAuthor: Naoki Urasawa - Broadcast runtime: 30 min - 75 episodesRating: TV 14 (Anticipated)
HONEY AND CLOVERAuthor: Chica Umino - Broadcast runtime: 30 min - 38 episodesRating: TV 14 (Anticipated)
BLUE DRAGONConcept based on the Xbox 360 game "BLUE DRAGON," Character Design by Akira Toriyama - Broadcast runtime: 30 min - 51 episodesRating: TV Y7FV (Anticipated)
DEATH NOTEStory by Tsugumi Ohba, Art by Takeshi Obata - Broadcast runtime: 30 min - 37 EpisodesRating: TV 14
NARUTOAuthor: Masashi Kishimoto - Broadcast runtime: 30 min - 220 EpisodesRating: TV PG
BLEACHAuthor: Tite Kubo - Broadcast runtime: 30 min - 104 EpisodesRating: TV 14
DEKO BOKO FRIENDSAuthor: Momoko Maruyama & Ryotaro Kuwamoto - Broadcast runtime: 30 sec - 234 EpisodesRating: TV Y
Headquartered in San Francisco, VIZ Media LLC is one of the leaders in the field of manga publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan's largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan Production Co., Ltd. (ShoPro Japan), VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America and a global licensor of Japanese manga and animation. For more information, visit www.VIZ.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
