Viz Media Announces Show Programming, Panel Events, Special Guests and Convention Exclusives for 2014 Otakon
San Francisco, CA, August 4, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has announced an array of special activities and exclusive retail items to be offered as part of the company's presence at the 2014 OTAKON convention.
OTAKON is one of the largest pop culture conventions on the East Coast and takes place August 8-10, 2014 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. VIZ Media will be located on the main show floor in Booth IND-017.
VIZ Media will celebrate the return of SAILOR MOON to North America with a variety of special attractions beginning with a SAILOR MOON Stamp Rally. Strange things have been happening and Sailor Moon needs your help! Come by the VIZ Media booth during OTAKON to get a stamp card and mission details from the Sailor Guardians. Collect planetary symbol stamps from around the convention and return the completed card to the VIZ Media booth to get an exclusive premiere event coin. There's a limited quantity of coins for each day, so be sure to help Sailor Moon before it's too late!
VIZ MEDIA Presents SAILOR MOON DAY Saturday August 9th:
Become a guardian of love and justice and join VIZ Media as it celebrates the legendary action fantasy anime series with SAILOR MOON Day on Saturday, August 9th. The subtitled series is currently streaming exclusively on www.NeonAlley.com and Hulu.com/sailormoon, and VIZ Media's acquisition includes all 200 episodes of the revered series, including the never before licensed for North America fifth and climatic final season, “Sailor Stars,” as well as the three features and additional specials. Additional information on OTAKON's SAILOR MOON DAY is available at: http://www.otakon.com/events_special.asp#SailorMoonDay
9:00 – 10:00AM SAILOR MOON Cosplay Gathering (Photoshoot 2)
Cosplayers of all ages are invited to don their Sailor Guardian finest and be a part of what could be North America's single largest SAILOR MOON cosplay and fan gathering
12:00 – 3:00PM SAILOR MOON Official Premiere & Panel (Video 1)
Hosted by the company's Senior Manager of Animation Marketing, Charlene Ingram, the panel will offer insights into the return of the iconic program, an advance premiere of two newly dubbed episodes along with a special Q&A featuring the official English voices of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask – Stephanie Sheh and Robbie Daymond.
4:30 – 5:30PM Special SAILOR MOON Dub Cast Autograph Session (Autograph 4)
Stop by the Otakon Autographing area, pick up your very own SAILOR MOON full-color poster and get it personally signed by Stephanie Sheh and Robbie Daymond, the English voices of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask!
Fans are invited to stop by the VIZ Media booth to take a photo with a Sailor Guardian or purchase an exclusive SAILOR MOON Bow T-shirt ($20.00).
Additional VIZ Media OTAKON Panels Include:
Friday August 8th
4:15 – 5:15PM VIZ Media Panel (Panel 1) Join the VIZ Media staff for a presentation and Q & A session all about the latest in manga and anime! Staff will be talking about the latest news, upcoming releases and other cool announcements from the publishing and animation teams. Free manga for attendees while supplies last!
Saturday August 9th
10:15 – 11:15AM VIZ Media Animation Featuring Neon Alley (Panel 7) Find out all that's new and awesome directly from the VIZ Media animation team! Discover the inside story about upcoming releases, catch new announcements and the latest on the anime streaming service, Neon Alley. Bring all your anime questions, too because the VIZ Media team will be there to answer them!
Exclusive VIZ Media OTAKON Retail Items:
VIZ Media will have an extensive retail area in its booth offering fans a variety of manga, art books, DVDs, Blu-rays, and an exclusive T-shirts. Notable items for sale during the convention will include Limited edition ONE PIECE replica manga artwork ($15.00); VIZ Media Live R-to-L T-shirts ($15.00); Manga presale editions for TIME KILLERS (Kazue Kato short stories - $15.00) and THE ART OF PRINCESS MONONOKE ($35.00) as well as recent Volume 1 manga releases for MONSTER: THE PERFECT EDITION ($20.00), TERRA FORMARS ($13.00), SPELL OF DESIRE ($10.00), MY LOVE STORY!! ($10.00), and BLACK ROSE ALICE ($10.00). Manga box sets for OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB, and BAKUMAN｡ will also be offered for sale in the booth.
Anime fans will not want to miss the opportunity to pick up Limited Edition Blu-ray sets for RANMA ½ Sets 1 and 2 ($44.00 ea), the K DVD/Blu-ray Combo Pack ($44.00), TIGER & BUNNY Blu-ray Sets 1 and 2 ($44.00 ea), and all three BERSERK feature films ($25.00 ea) plus more!
Also don't miss the return of the VIZ MEDIA convention tote bag, FREE with any purchase and available in four amazing designs (while supplies last)!
For more information on VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.
About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.
