VIZ MEDIA REVEALS A FIRST LOOK AT ITS NEW VIZ ORIGINALS ONE-SHOTS PROGRAM, CREATED BY THE FAMED EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP, HISASHI SASAKI.

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 7, 2024) – Today, VIZ Media, a world-leading producer of manga and anime, proudly expands its VIZ Manga digital offering to include one-shots – bite-size original manga stories created locally by debut and up-and-coming creators. 


Leading the VIZ Originals One-Shots program is former Weekly Shonen Jump Editor-in-Chief Hisashi SASAKI who oversaw Japan’s prestigious Weekly Shonen Jump magazine at a time when some of the most iconic, beloved, and highest-grossing creators of all were being serialized including Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto, and Tite Kubo’s Bleach, amongst many others. 


The first four exciting VIZ Originals One-Shots debuting exclusively on the VIZ Manga service include: Cinematic Certitude by Naf (Action, Sci-fi), Ancient Melody by Jonathan Lareva (Fantasy, Action), Skin & Bone by Josh Tierney (writer) and Valentin Serber (art) (Action, Adventure), and The Stranger by Liam Naughton (Action, Sci-fi), with new one-shots to be added each month. 


Thanks to VIZ Originals One-Shots, creators are given the opportunity to work closely with the revered Japanese manga editor, making VIZ Media the only publisher in the US to offer this experience domestically. Until now, manga-influenced creators who aspire to work with Japanese editors have had to travel to Tokyo for such an opportunity. 


Additionally, successful one-shots can access a wealth of opportunities at VIZ Media including the licensing and establishing of an IP as an ongoing series for digital and print formats, producing their story into an anime, and the production of consumer products. 


The Japanese one-shot model for serialization boasts the most influential and successful track record on the planet for launching debut manga creators. It is a model in which a one-shot (a complete story running between 20-50 pages) is published for an already built-in audience. 


Housing VIZ Originals One-Shots under the VIZ Manga digital service will see local creators published alongside Japanese manga legends including Rumiko Takahashi, Junji Ito, and Haro Aso. 


About VIZ Originals: 
VIZ Originals delivers manga-inspired graphic novels as well as manga adaptations of existing pop-culture success stories from books, TV, and film. Since launching in 2020, VIZ Originals can now be found in 14 languages around the world and cover many interests such as slice-of-life, seinen, shonen, shojo, and BL. Highlights include Rainbow Rowell’s manga adaptation of her coming-of-age award-winning novel Fangirl, while webcomic sensation Devil’s Candy from Ren and Bikkuri has gone on to be serialized in Japan - a rare feat for American-made manga. Future key title Betwixt, featuring a cover and foreword by mangaka legend Junji Ito, is a first-of-it’s kind international showcase of horror, publishing ahead of Halloween 2023 and bringing together Japanese and western creators such as Becky Cloonan, Ryo Hanada, Leslie Hung and Aki Shimizu. 


VIZ Originals is thrilled to publish exciting new work by both debut and experienced creators, bringing legendary characters to life and nurturing the storytellers of today.


About VIZ Manga:
VIZ Manga is a leading digital manga subscription service, with over 10,000 chapters featuring legendary manga creators across a wide range of interests. The latest chapters are free and published simultaneously with Japan. The app is available for iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and at viz.com/vizmanga. Territories include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.


About VIZ Media:  
An international authority on manga for more than three decades, VIZ Media is leading the way in what’s now, new, and next. Reaching one in four millennials and half of all GenZ manga readers, VIZ is at the forefront of America’s Japanese pop-culture phenomenon, which today dominates multiple industries from publishing and animation to film and gaming.

 
VIZ is proud to be the #1 destination for manga in America and home to some of the most prestigious anime brands driving the industry. Combined with a market share footprint larger than household names collectively, VIZ has pivoted from a localization company to a market leading pop culture publisher and producer.


VIZ Media is proudly certified as a Most Loved Workplace® in America and Inc Magazine’s 2023 Best Workplaces. For more information on VIZ Media visit: https://www.viz.com/