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Viz Brings iOS App to iPhone/iPod touch with 5 Leaves
posted on by Gia Manry
The North American anime and manga distributor Viz Media announced on Monday that its once iPad-exclusive app is now available for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch devices with the addition of Natsume Ono's House of Five Leaves and Not Simple manga.
The first volumes of "select" series are currently on sale for US$2.99, 40% off of their suggested price (US$4.99). The sale will run through the end of May 8. The titles whose first volumes are on sale include Bakuman., D.Gray-man, Death Note, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Ouran High School Host Club, and Toriko.
In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Viz Media Vice-President Alvin Lu stated that Viz has a variety of "events" planned for the application. He also noted that the response to releasing a volume digitally prior to its print release was bigger than the company anticipated, but didn't seem to impact print sales at all. When asked whether Viz was working on making apps available on other operating systems, such as Android, Lu did not confirm specific plans but said that the company is "definitely working on expanding" digital coverage.
Source: Publishers Weekly