Geneon Entertainment has acquired merchandising, television and home entertainment rights to the multi-media property Viewtiful Joe, created by Capcom Co. Ltd.  Viewtiful Joe, which was originally developed for the Nintendo GameCube, has become a worldwide video game smash (it was named 'Game of the Year' by USA Today) and is also available in a PlayStation 2 version.  In Japan the property has already spawned a 52-episode anime series (vintage 2004) as well as a manga and a host of licensed products.  Geneon, which will release the Viewtiful Joe anime series on DVD and is currently in talks with a major children's TV network to secure broadcast distribution, plans to introduce the property to North America with a wide variety of licensed merchandise including toys, action figures, apparel, books and beverages.

Like Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr., Joe gets sucked into a celluloid world where he has to save his girlfriend.  When he steps into the big screen and emerges in Movie Land, Joe meets his hero Captain Blue, an aging superhero weary from years of combat against the evil Jadows.  Captain Blue confers special superpowers on Joe, transmuting him into Viewtiful Joe and charging him with enormous task of defending Movie Land against the depredations of the Jadows.