Action-Driven
Superhero Series By Studio Madhouse Based On The Bestselling Manga
Series About A Superhero Who Just Needs A Villain Strong Enough To Take
Him On
San Francisco, CA, July 2, 2015 –
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and
licensor of manga and anime in North America, has teamed with VIZ Media
Europe S.A.R.L. (VME), the leader in Japanese Entertainment content in
Europe, and Anime Consortium Japan Inc. (ACJ), the Japanese company for
official anime streaming, to jointly announce the acquisition of the
multi-territory media distribution rights for the anime series,
ONE-PUNCH MAN.
Announced earlier this year, the ONE-PUNCH MAN anime is based on a bestselling manga series, created by writer ONE and artist Yusuke Murata, about an
average-guy-turned-superhero who packs quite the punch! Three content
distribution companies will join force to manage the digital
distribution, home media, merchandise, and TV rights to the newly
produced anime series for their respective territories.
- VIZ Media will manage the master license for ONE-PUNCH MAN in North America, Latin America and Oceania, as well as stream the series in the U.S.
- VIZ Media Europe will oversee & stream the property for EMEA, including Russia
- In addition, ACJ will stream the subtitled version of the program in all above territories
Additional details about availability will be forthcoming.
“ONE-PUNCH
MAN is a beautifully produced, action-driven series, and we will
leverage our expertise in developing anime content across all major
consumer formats with a savvy combination of proprietary and partner
distribution channels to bring this series to audiences on the widest
possible range of media devices and platforms,” says Brad Woods, Chief
Marketing Officer, VIZ Media.
“We
are very excited to bring ONE-PUNCH MAN to European audiences. Our
extensive distribution and licensing infrastructure across the region
will ensure that fans will be able to catch every episode localized for
their countries and across an array of multimedia platforms and a
variety of licensed goods ” says Pascal J. Bonnet, Senior Director TV
Sales & Licensing, VIZ Media Europe
“We
are very pleased to add ONE-PUNCH MAN to our anime digital media
streaming service, and look forward to delivering this extraordinary
superhero action series to our users around the world,” says Ririko
Kubo, Sales Promotion Division, Anime Consortium Japan Inc.
VIZ
Media also publishes the ONE-PUNCH MAN manga series (rated ‘T’ for
Teens) under its Shonen Jump imprint. The series is currently serialized
in VIZ Media’s WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP magazine, and full volumes are
available digitally first in North America via the VIZ Manga platform
and partner digital storefronts. The series launches in print in
September.
ONE-PUNCH MAN was animated by the renowned Japanese studio, Madhouse, and helmed by famed anime director, Shingo Natsume, (Space Dandy, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos) and features character designs by Chikashi Kubota (From the New World, Robotics:notes). In the series, Saitama
is a hero who only became a hero for fun. After three years of
“special” training, though, he’s become so strong that he’s practically
invincible. In fact, he’s too strong—even his mightiest opponents are
taken out with a single punch, and it turns out that being devastatingly
powerful is actually kind of a bore. With his passion for being a hero
lost along with his hair, yet still faced with new enemies every day,
how much longer can he keep it going?
Manga
creator ONE began ONE-PUNCH MAN as a web comic, which quickly
went viral and garnered over 10 million hits. Japanese manga publisher
(and VIZ Media parent company) Shueisha eventually secured the
publishing rights to the series which has sold more than 4.5 million
copies to-date. In addition to ONE-PUNCH MAN, ONE writes and draws the
series Mob Psycho 100 and Makai no Ossan.
Yusuke
Murata is a highly acclaimed and skilled manga artist best known for
his work on the football series, EYESHIELD 21 (also published in North
America by VIZ Media). In 1995, Murata won the prestigious 122nd Hop Step Award for his series, Partner, and placed second in 1998 in the semi-annual Akatsuka Awards for Samui Hanashi.
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