VIZ Media B.V. have plans for Bleach in Europe

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
<p>In a <a href="http://www.animeondvd.com/news/pr.php?pr_view=694">press release</a> circulated last night, US anime distributor Viz Media confirmed that they have indeed licensed popular Shounen Jump action series <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4240">Bleach</a>. Interestingly for UK fans is that this news isn't exclusive to North America; rather, Viz (through their Amsterdam-based company "VIZ Media B.V.") also intends to represent Bleach in Europe and Oceania too.</p>
&acirc;&euro;&oelig;It is a great privilege to be bringing such an outstanding property to so many parts of the world,&acirc;&euro;Â
 
has already established a very large fan base in the U.S. due to the enormously successful manga
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More like due to the fansubs, I used to like bleach but I have no real interest in it anymore so I doubt I'll be picking up the dvds.
 
Shame then that Viz manga still has availability problems in the UK - even new releases such as Death Note are sometimes hard to find in many stores. I can't recall any DVD series that Viz have released in the UK (if they have done at all) but it could still present problems if their manga track record is anything to go by.
 
I remeber a time when VIZ had no problems, it was easy to get manga, then I one day went into my local comic book shop and they told me Viz were having troubles shipping their stuff over, it was all downhill from there. :'(
 
Ramen89 said:
I remeber a time when VIZ had no problems, it was easy to get manga, then I one day went into my local comic book shop and they told me Viz were having troubles shipping their stuff over, it was all downhill from there. :'(
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That happened to me a year ago. By the looks of things they still haven't sorted out the problem!

If they want to release DVDs over here to compete with the big four (MVM, ADV, Manga Ent and Beez) they'll have to get their act together, big-time.
 
Borders only seem to have vols 2-3 in stock for the past 4 months now despite their database saying 8 volumes have been released here since

ah well up1 is ur friend
 
DaNiMé said:
ConcreteBadger said:
I can't recall any DVD series that Viz have released in the UK (if they have done at all)
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SaiKano is coming out sometime soon ^^, that's all atm though
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MVM have released two of the Ranma 1/2 movies, too.

From what I can tell Viz Media BV isn't a publisher of DVDs or manga but rather the arm that oversees the licencing of Viz's products in Europe. (It is the resultant of the recent conglomeration of Viz and Copyright Promotions (CPLG). (It would probably be the UK branch of CPLG that you should pester if you want to get it on TV ;))

There is the possibility with this particular announcement that Gollancz, who have published a number of Viz manga in the UK, may take up/be offered the Bleach manga licence in preparation for a UK invasion. (It's a remote hope but it would be good to see.)
 
ConcreteBadger said:
Shame then that Viz manga still has availability problems in the UK - even new releases such as Death Note are sometimes hard to find in many stores.
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That's because Viz no longer release their manga in the UK. In the past they allowed Diamond Comic Distributors to distribute their US releases to UK Comic Shops, but when they started sub licensing titles to Gollancz last year they told Diamond to stop distributing their titles in the UK. Some comic shops and online retailers can get around the ban, but most can't and that's the source of the problem. Now I'm sure Gollancz will release the Bleach (and Naruto) Manga in the UK eventually, given how successful it is in the US, but it may take a while for them to do so.

We may see Bleach on TV in the UK too, but I doubt the anime will get a DVD release in this country, although you never know. Viz certainly won't release it themselves because as Gawyn says Viz Media BV act only as licensors not as publishers, even in France and Germany. If you want to see the Bleach anime in the UK pester the TV companies to air it or one of the anime companies to release it on DVD.
 
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