Celebrated Sci-Fi Novel LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES Debuts In English For First Time

Opening Volume Of The Bestselling Japanese Space Opera To Be Published In English For The First Time!!

San Francisco, CA, February 22, 2016 – VIZ Media’s Haikasoru literary imprint announces its first release of 2016 with the North American publication of author Yoshiki Tanaka’s epic space opera/military sci-fi novel, LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES, on March 8^th.

LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES, VOLUME 1: DAWN is the first in the author’s celebrated series set to be released by Haikasoru, with Volumes 2 and 3 debuting this summer and fall, respectively. LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES, VOLUME 1: DAWN will debut in print with an MSRP of $15.99 U.S. / $18.99 CAN. An eBook edition will debut on March 8^th for the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Book Store, the Kobo eBooks Store, and the Google Play store. An audiobook version, read by Tim Gerard Reynolds, will debut the same day through Simon & Schuster Audio with an MSRP of $23.99 U.S.

In the thirty-sixth century humanity has conquered the galaxy and colonized countless star systems. The Galactic Empire, modeled along Prussian lines, and the democratic Free Planets Alliance are at war, and the fate of every human being in the universe hangs in the balance. This classic Japanese space opera, adapted into a legendary anime, is finally available in English for the first time.

In the opening novel of the series, “The Golden Brat,” Reinhard von Lohengramm, is a military prodigy and admiral of the Galactic Empire and has ambitions beyond protecting the borders or even defeating the Empire’s enemies. He seeks to overthrow the old order and become a truly absolute – yet benevolent – dictator. His rival, the humble Yang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance, wishes to preserve democracy even if he must sacrifice his political ideals to defeat the Empire. Their political and military battles play out over a galactic chessboard in an epic saga fifteen centuries in the making!

“The LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES series of novels were extremely popular in Japan also spawned popular anime and manga adaptations that have gained fans all over,” says Nick Mamatas, Editor. “We have received many requests from readers over the years asking us to publish LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES and this English publication is sure to capture a whole new legion of fans for the work of this celebrated author.”

Author Yoshiki Tanaka was born in 1952 and won the Gen’eijo (a Japanese mystery magazine) New Writer Award in 1978 for his debut story, “Midori no Sogen ni…” (On the Green Field…), which launched his career as a science fiction and fantasy writer. LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES: DAWN translates the European wars of the 19^th Century to an interstellar setting and won the prestigious Seiun Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1987. Tanaka’s other works include the fantasy series, The Heroic Legend of Arslan, and numerous other science fiction, fantasy, historical, and mystery novels and stories.

For more information on LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES, other releases from the Haikasoru imprint, please visit www.haikasoru.com.

For more information on other titles available from 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 ONE PIECE, 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.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.