Viz, LLC has acquired the rights to Nobuhiro Watsuki's samurai manga series Rurouni Kenshin.  The Cartoon Network has been running the anime version of Rurouni Kenshin during its daily Toonami block, where despite considerable censorship of the bloody samurai saga, it has been attracting a lot of attention (see 'Cartoon Network Ratings Up').  The anime series is based on Watsuki's manga, which started running in the Japanese Shonen Jump in 1994.  With its premier spot on TV, Rurouni Kenshin has tremendous potential.  Media Blasters, which produces the English language version of the anime series, has reported a definite bump in sales thanks to the Cartoon Network exposure.

 

So far Viz is playing it cool as to whether or not the Rurouni Kenshin manga will appear in the American version of Shonen Jump or not, but given the fact that Shueisha, the manga's Japanese publisher, is Viz's partner in the American Shonen Jump, it appears likely that Ruroni Kenshin will join the Jump lineup in the near future, especially considering so many other Jump titles have ties to anime series on American TV (see 'Shonen Jump Line Tied To Cartoon Network').