PR: Viz Media Releases 2014 SDCC Plans, Panel Events, Giveaways

©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO /
2007 SHIPPUDEN  All Rights Reserved.

I'm not saying I'm immensely jealous of everyone who is attending SDCC this year . . . but yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. And man, I want to take a photo with Doraemon! 

VIZ Media Hosts NARUTO Japanese Voice Actor And Offers A Weekend Of Collectable Giveaways, Convention Exclusive Items, Fun Booth Activities, Panel Discussions And Much More At The Nation’s Largest Comics And Pop Culture Event

San Francisco, CA, July 18, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, delivers a cornucopia of anime and manga delight to fans of all ages this year at the 2014 Comic-Con International. Attendees are invited to join a fun weekend in San Diego jam-packed with special events, in-booth giveaways, informative panel discussions, and other fun activities and convention exclusives.

Comic-Con International is the nation’s biggest comic book, science fiction and pop culture event, and takes place July 23^rd-27^th at the San Diego Convention Center, in San Diego, CA. VIZ Media will be located in Booth 2813. Complete details on Comic-Con are available at: www.comic-con.org.

VIZ Media will host an array of panel discussions detailing a host of forthcoming releases, new acquisitions and other surprises from the company’s animation and publishing teams. Fans will not want to miss a very special appearance by Junko Takeuchi, the Japanese voice actress who provides the original voice for Naruto in the popular anime series. She will join the staff of VIZ Media’s WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP for a special panel discussion on NARUTO on Thursday, July 24^th. Fans are also invited to attend the official SAILOR MOON panel, which will offer new information on the return of the legendary animated series to North America!

VIZ Media’s Booth 2813 on the Main Show Floor will be a continual hub of activity with special in-booth photo opportunities with an UGLYDOLL on Thursday, July 24^th and everyone’s favorite cat-type robot from the future, DORAEMON, on Saturday July 25^th. Fans can also catch freebies and promo item giveaways throughout the convention including posters, temporary tattoos, posters, postcards, buttons and more for popular series such as BLOOD LAD, DEADMAN WONDERLAND, SAILOR MOON and ONE-PUNCH MAN. And don’t miss the return of the VIZ MEDIA convention tote bag, FREE with any purchase, available in four amazing designs (while supplies last)!

Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)/
© 1997 Nibariki - GND
All drawings and image art © 1997 Nibariki
All rights reserved.
© 1997 Studio Ghibli

Collectors also can browse an array of limited edition items and special convention exclusives that will be offered for sale in the VIZ Media booth throughout Comic-Con (while supplies last). Notable items include ONE PIECE Exclusive Replica Manga Art ($15.00); Limited Edition BRAVEST WARRIORS: THE SEARCH FOR CATBUG ($35.00), with foil-accented slipcover and gilded page edges only 250 made - don’t miss the chance to have it signed by the artists at the exclusive in-booth signing; BRAVEST WARRIORS: CATBUG'S TREASURE BOOK ($15.00); HELLO KITTY, HELLO 40 Commemorative Art Book (50.00) only 250 printed with foil-accented slipcover and gilded page edges - don’t miss the chance to have it signed by HELLO KITTY artists at the exclusive in-booth signing; exclusive Gecco NARUTO SHIPPUDEN figure ($150.00); and Cryptozoic’s NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Trading Card Game Presale ($50.00).

Also catch special advance pre-sales of several forthcoming new VIZ Media titles including FOOD WARS, Vol. 1 ($10.00), BLACK ROSE ALICE ($10.00) and THE ART OF PRINCESS MONONOKE ($35.00) ahead of their street date releases later this summer. Don’t miss the latest WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Jump Pack ($20.00) that contains more than 100 pages of the world’s most popular featured series and a limited edition YU-GI-OH! card “Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Evening Twilight,” as well as a special bonus exclusive game mat free with purchase (while supplies last)!

VIZ Media Comic-Con Panels & Special Events:

Thursday July 24^th

10:00AM and 4:00PM    UGLYDOLL PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

                             VIZ Media Booth #2813

Drop by the VIZ Media booth for a photo with an UGLYDOLL pal!

10:00AM – 11:30AM    SHONEN JUMP PRESENTS: NARUTO

                             Room 8

NARUTO is one of the world’s most popular manga series, with over 60 best-selling volumes published. Get all the latest news and more at this super-sized panel, featuring guests from VIZ Media, Bandai Namco Games (Daisuke Koumoto, producer of the upcoming NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM REVOLUTION) and a special guest Junko Takeuchi, Japanese voice of Naruto!

4:00PM – 5:00PM    VIZ MEDIA PANEL

                             Room 7AB

Get the latest updates & exciting news from VIZ Media staff on your favorite manga and anime! There will be free manga for attendees (while supplies last)!

Friday July 25^th

10:00AM & 1:00PM    CATBUG VOICE ACTOR SAM LAVAGNINO

                             In-Booth Signing & Personal Appearance

VIZ Media Booth #2813

Meet the voice of Catbug, the breakout star of YouTube hit Bravest Warriors, and get a signed art card!

10:00AM – 11:00AM    VIZ MEDIA ANIMATION PANEL Feat. NEON ALLEY

                             Room 25ABC

Find out all that's new and awesome with the VIZ Media animation team and the free streaming site Neon Alley! Bring all your anime questions because they will be there to answer them!

Saturday July 26^th

12:30PM – 1:30PM    OFFICAL SAILOR MOON PANEL

                             Room 5AB

VIZ Media is releasing the complete classic SAILOR MOON series for the first time on Blu-ray and with an all-new English dub! Join members of the VIZ Media animation team and learn all about this legendary anime series!

12:30PM     DORAEMON PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

VIZ Media Booth #2813

Get a hug and take a picture with everyone’s favorite cat-type robot from the future, DORAEMON!

Sunday July 27^th

2:00PM – 3:00PM    PERFECT SQUARE PRESENTS – MAKING KIDS COMICS AWESOME

                             Room 32AB

HELLO KITTY © 1976, 2014
SANRIO CO. LTD. Used under license.

Bring your kids along, or just your inner child, and join an eclectic group of creators and editors for a lively roundtable that will get you laughing, learning and looking at the craft of all-ages comics in a whole new way!

Other Notable VIZ Media In-Booth Events:

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Deck Building Game Demo

Check the daily booth schedule for a chance to try out the new card game debuting from Cryptozoic at SDCC!

In-Booth Signing and Photo-Op: HELLO KITTY

Join Hello Kitty herself and graphic novel artists for a special signing and photo opportunity!

Saturday, July 26^th 10AM: features Jenni Holm, Matt Holm, Art Baltazar, Franco Aureliani, Lark Pien

Sunday, July 27^th at 10AM: features Brianne Drouhard, Stephanie Gonzaga, Martin Hsu, Chynna Clugston Flores, Susie Ghahremani

Jacob Chabot will also be available Sunday July 27^th at 1PM!

In-Booth Signing: BRAVEST WARRIORS

Meet the talented contributors for the brand new books based off of the YouTube smash-hit series and get your VIZ Media BRAVEST WARRIOR book or comic sampler signed!

Friday, July 25^th at 4:00PM: features Stu Livingston, Tom Warburton, Jon Chad, Ian McGinty

Sunday, July 27^th at 1:00PM: features Corin Howell and Inori Fukuda Trant,

In-Booth Signing: NARUTO Figure Sculptor Shin Tanabe

Thursday, July 24^th & Friday July 25^th at 2:30PM

Meet Gecco figure Sculptor Shin Tanabe, creator of the Comic-Con exclusive NARUTO SHIPPUDEN figure and get your limited edition figure signed!

RANMA ½ Plinko

Available Throughout Comic-Con

Try your luck at our RANMA ½ Plinko board for a chance to win a limited edition Comic-Con only RANMA ½ water bottle! Check the daily booth schedule for times to play!

For more information on 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 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.