October 1, 2010

JOIN VIZ MEDIA TO CELEBRATE NARUTO’S BIRTHDAY WITH NEW MANGA AND ANIME, SPECIAL CONTESTS, AND FUN EVENTS IN OCTOBER

It’s Naruto’s birthday October 10th, and VIZ Media invites fans to help celebrate the birth of the world’s most popular ninja with the release of the latest volume of the NARUTO manga series, the next NARUTO SHIPPUDEN box set, special coverage in SHONEN JUMP magazine, and a series of fun events planned around the 2010 New York Comic Con and Anime Festival.

NARUTO Volume 49, the latest manga installment, hits retailers on October 5th (rated ‘T’ for Teens, MSRP $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN). In this volume, The Gokage Summit commences, and the five leaders of the strongest villages in the ninja world meet to discuss the fate of their universe and how to deal with the ever-looming threat of the rogue organization, the Akatsuki. Plans are made that will affect Naruto deeply. The new Hokage, the leader of Naruto’s village, is not afraid to make the final end move against Naruto’s old pal, Sasuke!

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN BOX SET 4 (rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) will be available October 19th in Special (MSRP $69.97 U.S. / $99.99 CAN and includes Sasuke figure) and Standard editions (MSRP $49.95 U.S / $71.99 CAN). Team Kakashi’s spying mission brings them face to face with the Leaf’s most deadly enemy, Orochimaru. Naruto’s rage brings forth the Nine-Tailed Fox, but at great risk to both himself and those he cares for the most. With Naruto’s rampage quelled, the team continues on to Orochimaru’s lair to find Sasuke, but the mysterious Sai has disappeared. Could one of their own be planning the ultimate betrayal?

VIZ Media’s SHONEN JUMP magazine also celebrates NARUTO in its October edition, available now on newsstands, and online! A NARUTO Birthday Sweepstakes is offered where ten lucky fans will win a very special Pakkun backpack filled with exciting premiums including patches, DVD box sets, a collectable figure and more! Also featured is a story on how Naruto will celebrate his birthday, and fun ideas for fans to celebrate theirs. More info is available at: http://shonenjump.viz.com/features/index.php?id=410.

Finally, fans in the New York City area on October 8th are invited to catch the VIZ Media NARUTO Street Team in action. The team will be stationed throughout Times Square during the day and at the 2010 New York Comic Con and Anime Festival at Jacob Javits Convention Center in the afternoon. Come dressed in NARUTO gear to win a prize!

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, NARUTO was first introduced in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999 and quickly became that country’s most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens with more than 100 million copies in circulation to-date. The manga series (rated ‘T’ for Teens) and animated counterpart (NARUTO rated ‘T’ for Teens, and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) are among VIZ Media’s most successful properties and have captivated millions of fans across North America, Europe and South America.

The latest NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime episodes from Japan are currently available for free viewing at www.VIZAnime.com and Hulu.com. Dubbed episodes are available for download to own through iTunes, PlayStation Network, Amazon, Xbox and more.

For more information on NARUTO please visit the official NARUTO website at www.Naruto.com.