BANDAI VISUAL USA ANNOUNCES HARUKA@SAKURA–CON 2008 DETAILS             Torrance, Calif. March 7, 2008 – Celebrating the HARUKA: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight Guardians Premier and Director Aki Tsunaki’s attendance, Bandai Visual USA announces the details of HARUKA related events, activities and show exclusives at Sakura-Con 2008. Director Tsunaki will be present at the HARUKA events starting with the Industry Reception Dinner on Thursday, March 27. Schedules for HARUKA related events are as follows: Thursday, March 27Industry Reception Dinner         7:00PM – at Place Ballroom Friday, March 28Opening Ceremonies                10:00AM – 11:30 AM at room 6ABCPremier Screening (Vol.1)         2:00 PM – 4:00 PM (room TBD)Guest Reception Dinner            7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at Grand Hyatt Saturday, March 29Haruka Panel (Q & A) 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM at room 611-614Autograph Session                    1:00 PM – 2:00 PM at room 4BPress Session                           3:30 PM – 4:30 PM at room 601 Sunday, March 30Director Panel                          10:00 AM – 11:00 AM at room 611-614Closing Ceremonies                  4:30 PM – 5:30 PM at room 6ABC For Haruka Panel (Q & A) on March 29, VIZ Media manga editor Carol Fox is also scheduled to take part as well as Director Aki Tsunaki for a discussion on both the anime and manga incarnations of HARUKA.     

Also, authentic reproduction cels made by Yumeta Company, the studio that created the anime, will be on display and will be first made available for purchase at Sakura-Con 2008 and will then be sold on dot-anime.us beginning late March. Hand crafted traditional Japanese animation cels are increasingly becoming a rare collector’s item and are available in strictly limited quantities only. There are nine different designs, eight featuring each of the Eight Guardians and one more, which feature Akram and Akane.

 Along with cels, Bandai Visual USA will also sell advance copies of HARUKA Vol. 1 DVD and the manga Vol.1, published domestically by VIZ Media, at the Broccoli/Bandai Visual Booths #314, 316, 415, and 417. A specially made HARUKA Japanese style fan will be the exclusive gift for those who purchase HARUKA DVD at Sakura-Con. For more information on HARUKA DVD please visit our official website at http://www.bandaivisual.us/haruka/ HARUKA manga, rated T+ (for Older teens) is serialized in VIZ Media’s SHOJO BEAT Magazine reaching over 130,000 readers each month via subscription and on newsstands nationwide.  For more information please visit www.shojobeat.com or www.viz.com.  BANDAI VISUAL USA INC. was established in 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of BANDAI VISUAL CO., LTD. with a mission to facilitate stronger, more active involvement in positioning, marketing and distribution of BANDAI VISUAL programs in North America. From its base in Torrance, California, BANDAI VISUAL USA seeks to form new alliances and reinforce existing ties in an effort to strengthen BANDAI VISUAL’s international presence as a producer and content provider in the ever expanding and diversified specialty programs market.