VIZ Media Announces Special National Road Tour for Shonen Jump Naruto

Fans Are Invited To Visit Select Mall Locations To Take Part In Exciting and Fun Activities Related To Best Selling Manga And Anime Series

San Francisco, CA, October 20, 2006 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced a special national road show to highlight SHONEN JUMP NARUTO to fans across the country. The tour kicks off on November 4 in Atlanta, GA with subsequent stops scheduled for Bloomington, MN and Cedar Park, TX with future dates in 2007 to be announced. The event will be free to attend and information is available at www.naruto.viz.com.

At each stop, a special event staging area will immerse young and older fans alike into the captivating and action-filled worlds of the popular manga and anime series. The event will feature multiple activity stations including a Ninja Academy, where visitors can learn special moves and techniques with an instructor, the Chakra Challenge, sponsored by Mattel, sneak peeks of upcoming anime episodes on a large main screen, a Bandai collectible game card area, several video game kiosks where fans can play the latest NARUTO video games from Tomy/D3P and NAMCO/BANDAI, a manga drawing area, and a green screen where fans can have their picture taken with a variety of backgrounds featured in the anime series. Upon entering, each visitor will be given a special NARUTO passport that will guide them to the various activities and after collecting passport stamps, each fan will receive an exclusive SHONEN JUMP NARUTO goodie bag filled with collectable premiums.

Dates for the SHONEN JUMP NARUTO Road Tour Include:

Saturday, November 18: Lakeline Mall
Cedar Park, TX
Event Hours: 12pm – 7pm

NARUTO is a ratings powerhouse on Cartoon Network, where it is featured as part of the network’s Toonami block of action programming and attracts millions of viewers each week. The NARUTO manga was recently awarded the coveted Quill Award for Best Graphic Novel for 2006. The newest volume of the manga series, published in North America by VIZ Media, was also ranked at Number 21 on USA Today’s Top 150 Best Seller List for the week of August 27, 2006. This is the highest placement any manga title has ever achieved on the daily’s noted literary sales list, which compiles sales traction for fiction, non-fiction, hardcover as well as paperback titles. VIZ Media also distributes the anime series on DVD and recently issued a special uncut box set of the entire first season.

"We are pleased to announce this exciting new road tour for SHONEN JUMP NARUTO." States Liza Coppola, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, VIZ Media. "SHONEN JUMP magazine is the best selling manga anthology in North America and the NARUTO manga titles are one of the best selling graphic novels on the market today. This road tour will delight fans already familiar with both the magazine and the manga with a variety of fun and free activities and also introduce new ones to the exciting world of SHONEN JUMP NARUTO. We invite people of all ages to come out and enjoy a great day of fun!"

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 (graphic novel) 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.