Viz Media Signs New Publishing Representatives In Mexico and Brazil for Shonen Jump Naruto

San Francisco, CA, April 10, 2007 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has selected Grupo Editorial VID S.A. de C.V. of Mexico (GEV) and Panini Brazil Ltda. (Panini Brazil) to release the Shonen Jump™ NARUTO™ manga from Shueisha Inc. in their respective countries in April and May 2007.

"We are excited to partner with GEV and Panini Brazil to build on the success of NARUTO in Latin America," said Hyoe Narita, Executive Vice President of VIZ Media. "Based on the success of the anime series in Latin America and the ongoing anticipation by fans for the release of the unique manga series that was its inspiration, we expect the NARUTO manga will find success among teens and young adults and we look forward to new fans discovering this unique and fantastic tale."

"We are very pleased to be partnering with VIZ Media to launch the NARUTO manga in Mexico," said Francisco Jimenez, Editor-in-chief of GEV. “We are honored to present fans with the compelling characters, story arcs and incredible action that have made NARUTO an international sensation."

"NARUTO is currently the most popular manga in all the world," said Marcio Borges, Commercial Director of Panini Brazil. "Panini Brazil is proud to publish this famous manga in this country, and we'll surely use all of our editorial, marketing and distribution resources to give NARUTO all the importance it truly deserves."

NARUTO has become one of VIZ Media's most successful manga properties in terms of sales. The series, by creator Masashi Kishimoto, depicts the adventures of a young boy who trains to become a ninja, and has sold more than 70 million copies in Japan since Shueisha Inc. began publishing the manga in 1999. In North America, the massive amount of fan interest in the brand continues to build. NARUTO has emerged as one of the best selling and most popular manga series throughout North America, regularly placing in both Graphic Novel and Overall General Fiction categories on noted literary sales rosters including BookScan and the USA Today Top 150. In addition to the manga series, the NARUTO anime counterpart is a ratings powerhouse on Cartoon Network. VIZ Media also recently released the first few volumes of the anime series on DVD and it continues to be a huge seller.

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 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.

About Grupo Editorial VID S.A. de C.V.
Grupo Editorial Vid is one of the most outstanding publishing houses in Latin America with 50 years' experience in the market. Its yearly production is 24.5 million copies of comics, stories and books. For distribution, Grupo Vid has created its own chain known as Librerìas Mundo Vid. Grupo Vid, which has had the experience and excellent results in organizing, promoting and working out the logistics of conventions and lectures on comics. Is a leading company in publishing magazines in Spanish for children, adolescents and adults with an average of 34 comics, manga and stories per month, distributed throughout the country. Every year, Grupo Vid launches an average of ten new titles into the market that are rapidly positioned among readers. Grupo Vid is the result of unconditional support of dozens of artists, writers, collaborators, friends, relatives, and more than anything, of readers that have accepted the publications with staunch and growing interest.

About Panini Brasil Ltda.
Panini Brasil Ltda, based inin state São Paulo (Brazil), is a fully owned subsidiary of Panini Group based in Modena (Italy). The company started its operation in Brazil back in 1989 and is a market leader in sticker albums, cards and comics. The sticker factory has a production capacity of over 3 million packets per day, and has a fully dedicated editorial department capable of producing sticker and card collections and comics packaging. The company’s total comics print run will exceed 27 million copies in 2007. Panini Brasil has national distribution reaching over 30.000 newsstands, 1000 supermarkets and a great number of bookstores and mass market shops in Brazil.