Press Release: Ten Viz Media Manga Titles Sweep The BookScan Top Ten

NARUTO, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, RUROUNI KENSHIN And DEATH NOTE Continue To Captivate Readers Nationwide

San Francisco, CA, June 5, 2006 -€“ VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced that ten of its manga titles have again swept the top spots on Nielsen BookScan’s Adult Fiction Overall Graphic Novel list for the week ending May 28, 2006. This is the second time in the past seven months VIZ Media took the entire Top Ten list - in December 2005 VIZ Media also dominated the weekly sales list. Nielsen BookScan has the best and most comprehensive data in the industry, picking up sales information from over 6,500 retail locations across the country.

This is a notable milestone – it is extremely rare for titles from a single publisher to capture all top ten top spaces on BookScan’s Graphic Novel list. The complete Top Ten list included NARUTO, RUROUNI KENSHIN, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE.

  1. NARUTO, Volume 10
  2. RUROUNI KENSHIN, Volume 27
  3. NARUTO, Volume 9
  4. BLEACH, Volume 13
  5. FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, Volume 7
  6. NARUTO, Volume 1
  7. NARUTO, Volume 8
  8. NARUTO, Volume 2
  9. DEATH NOTE, Volume 5
  10. NARUTO, Volume 7

The NARUTO property in particular continues to enjoy great popularity in North America. The anime counterpart, which is also distributed by VIZ Media, is seen weekly by millions of viewers on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block of programming. VIZ Media will further support the NARUTO juggernaut with the upcoming release of NARUTO ANIME PROFILES in July and a NARUTO novel titled INNOCENT HEART, DEMONIC BLOOD, slated for release in November.

“We are extremely gratified to see ten of our manga titles on Bookscan’s Top Ten,” states John Easum, Executive Vice President of VIZ Media. “It’s not a stretch to say that NARUTO has become the most popular anime and manga property in North America and the favorable placement of six volumes of the series in the Bookscan list validates that. "We look forward to the continued stellar success of the series. We also anticipate continued growth for our other top performing titles such as BLEACH and DEATH NOTE, and we are optimistic that some new VIZ titles will also soon break the top ten!"

About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan Production Co., Ltd. (ShoPro Japan), VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America and a global licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offers an integrated product line including, magazines such as SHONEN JUMP and SHOJO BEAT, graphic novels, videos, DVDs, audio soundtracks and develops and markets animated entertainment from initial production, television placement and distribution, to merchandise licensing and promotions for audiences and consumers of all ages.