Animanga Nation

Written by: Edward Zacharias

Our good friends at VIZ Media have certainly been very busy and that’s a very good thing in our book, albeit exhausting on their front. Still, this all adds up to good news for anime fans seeing as the announcement they made today will surprise, delight and will have you begging for more.

Yeah, that’s how good the news is in the VIZ Media panel. Here’s why …

ANIME RELEASES

* BLEACH The Movie 2: The Diamond Dust Rebellion  = The second movie is headed our way on September 8 of this year and will be screen in movie theaters on August 19 and 20. We will give you more info on where and when as we get closer to the date.

Speaking of BLEACH news, you can win a BLEACH themed guitar autographed by BLEACH creator Tite Kubo. Just go to http://www.bleach.viz.com/rockstar for more details.

* Death Note Relight 2  = The second DVD will be released on October 27, 2009 while the first one is available right now.

* L: Change the World  = Ok, it’s not anime. This is the live-action movie and it rocks. Expect the DVD to be released on August 18, 2009.

* Hunter x Hunter: Box Set 4  =  It will be released on December 1, 2009. I can’t think of a better Christmas present … in my book, anyway.

* Naruto Shippudden, Vol. 1  = At last, we finally get the first volume of the Naruto Shippudden series on August 29, 2009. This is the only way we can see it – well, aside from logging on to http://www.naruto.com – so this news has us very excited.

* Naruto Shippudden The Movie  = The first of the Naruto Shippudden movies will be available on November 1, 2009.

While we’re on the subject of Naruto, it was announced that http://www.naruto-viz.com hinted at the “Kakashi Chronicles,” a side story about Kakashi-sensei’s early days as a student. This sounded way too good to be true when we first heard it and now it is confirmed. Look for more news about it right here.

* Nana, Box Set 1  = All you Nana fans will be happy this September 8, 2009 when the anime finally comes to our shores. I can already hear Faith begging me to review it when it comes out.

* Honey and Clover, Box Set 1  = Ok, this is one even I am excited about. The anime of Chica Umino’s manga will be released on September 22, 2009.

* Boys Over Flowers, Jewelry Box  = I can already hear Ai begging me for this one. Expect it to come out on October 13, 2009.

With so many exciting titles headed our way, we can safely say that VIZ Media has us covered on the anime front. This is really starting to look like a great year for anime fans.