Guess what? Bleach is NOT licensed by 4Kids....!!

angelx03 · Post by **angelx03** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:30 pm

AnimeOnDVD wrote:Viz Media Acquires Bleach Anime (06:36 PM EST): According to this report from C21 Media back on February 6th, Viz Media has acquired the Bleach anime in order to push more into the teen anime market. This comes at a time when a recent Cartoon Network interview has the commentator talking about how Bleach is very much an Adult Swim oriented show and would fit well in their line-up. Time that with Inu Yasha getting closer to finishing and it looks as if Viz Media is lining things up for their next big TV push in addition to Naruto.

To make it short, Viz got Bleach, and they plan to premiere it on Adult Swim. Not too surprising for me though, but at least it got licensed fairly quickly.

Bakadeshi · Post by **Bakadeshi** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 10:55 pm

hmm, Not sure I should be happy that its liscensed here and we'll see DVDs soon, or upset that it was viz that got it. I Don't particularly like what they've done with Naruto. I guess we'll see though.

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:29 pm

Viz has owned Bleach from the begining it seems:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/columns ... php?id=225

hypes · Post by **hypes** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:21 am

Not too happy with Viz. Remember that thing they did with Correcor Yui? Or should I say, that thing they didn't do with Corrector Yui. There's at least two seasons of the show and they only brought half of the first season to US DVD before dropping production. And now, we'll never see the rest. So Viz, may be better than 4kids, could drop the ball half way through...

angelx03 · Post by **angelx03** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:57 am

They dropped Corrector Yui because DVD sales flat out sucked.

Bleach is going to be another gold mind for Viz just like Naruto. Also since there's plans of Bleach being shown on Adult Swim, you know it's going to be shown unedtited and uncensored.

Tails_Prower_Fairy · Post by **Tails_Prower_Fairy** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:08 am

COOL!

ssj4lonewolf · Post by **ssj4lonewolf** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:16 am

Viz uses Bleach to clean up in teen market

Japanese animé and manga licensor Viz Media has acquired its first title aimed at the older teen and young adult demo.

Bleach comes from the same family of manga as Viz Media properties Shonen Jump, Dragonball Z and Naruto, but instead targets an older age group than the company's usual core demo of seven- to 12-year-olds.

"Bleach is one of the big heavy hitters coming out of Japan, for which we have pretty big expectations. It is a very highly rated show on TV Tokyo at the moment," said John Easum, executive VP of Viz Media.

The property is already a very strong manga publishing title in the US, and Easum feels this is a "strong indication of how it will perform as a series."

According to Daniel Marks, MD at Viz Media BV, the Amsterdam-based company Viz launched in October with licensing outfit Copyright Promotions Licensing Group, teens will find it easy to identify with Bleach's characters.

"They are hip, trendy and fashionable," said Marks. "It sort of fuses a cool Samurai-esque feel with a retro style – all in present-day pop culture Japan that we think will resonate really well with the teen demo."

Bleach follows 15-year-old high school student Ichigo Kurosaki, who is able to see and fight the undead after an encounter with a 'soul reaper.' With his newfound powers, Kurosaki and his crew take on a brand new vocation: ghost-busting.

Jo Anne Kenny
6 Feb 2006
© C21 Media 2006

C21 is a england based company, this kinda has nothing to do with america. Nothing has been said for plans of bleach for the US. That is the articial from ann and c21

Yok/0 · Post by **Yok/0** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 4:27 pm

That depends which Viz has got the liscense to Bleach,

The Viz that has Inu Yasha

or

The Viz(Shopro) That has Naruto

Which both have advantages and disadvantages in my opinion. For one the Viz that did Inu-yasha, Is something I'm having confusing feelings for since I don't like Much Canadian voices at all and ShoPro Viz Has a decent Cast of voice actors from Wendee Lee to Crispin Freeman but what also sux about this Showpro is that I see no uncut ver. of Naruto on sight yet. but something tells me Naruto though is gonna get it's Good 10 years of marketing to those ninja loving kids and sell Naruto Halloween Costumes and by then 5 years they'll pull off a Funimation with DBZ and pull off uncut versions.

angelx03 · Post by **angelx03** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 5:10 pm

It shouldn't really matter since ShoPro and Viz Communications merged together recently to form Viz Media. And ssj4lonewolf, you might want to read this:

AnimeOnDVD wrote:Viz Media on Bleach (09:50 AM EST): Due to the nature of the C21 Media article being a pay subscription service (the company is quite reputable in its industry), we can't quote the full article due to copyright considerations. There has been some initial confusion among folks based on hearing quotes from the European part of Viz Media but this is the quote in addition to the header that I feel is most relevant to indicating that the title is licensed: "Bleach is one of the big heavy hitters coming out of Japan, for which we have pretty big expectations. It is a very highly rated show on TV Tokyo at the moment," said John Easum, executive VP of Viz Media." And, of course, with the article title being "Japanese animé and manga licensor Viz Media has acquired its first title aimed at the older teen and young adult demo." it seems to back that up as well. Bleach's manga has long been acquired and released and C21 Media doesn't exactly cover manga as breaking news.

You can take as you want unless you want further confirmation from Anime News Network.

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 5:20 pm

from the answerman article I linked to earlier:

Here's the thing: the anime industry doesn't really operate exactly as it used to in the early '00s. Bleach is a Viz title (and a major cash cow for them). It doesn't have to be "licensed"; it's owned by Viz's parent company, Shueisha. They don't have to "license" titles. If you see it in Shonen Jump, odds are (unless they decide to license it out to another American company, which does happen from time to time and has happened in the past) Viz will eventually be releasing it on TV and DVD. Now, to be fair, this is a relatively recent phenomenon; Viz is now focusing on developing franchises based on Shonen Jump properties, and obviously, licensing out what's sure to be a smash hit anime would be kind of a mistake.

It would be a fair assumption on your part that Viz currently owns Bleach. There's a small chance that they'll license the title out to someone else, but given their current marketing strategy, I highly doubt that will happen.