Viz Media is presenting a
number of anime series at MIPTV, the global content event for buying, selling,
and distributing entertainment, including three anime series that are already
available in the U.S., Bleach, Blue
Dragon and Buso Renkin, and one,
Naoki Urusawa's Monster, that was
previously showcased at NATPE (National Association of Television Program
Executives -- see "Viz
Presenting Hunter x Hunter & Monster Anime Series"). At MIPTV Viz Media is also presenting two
anime series, Kilari and Nana, which are based on shojo properties and have not yet been
released here in the
The 51-episode Kilari anime with its story of a 14-year-old girl who decides to become a pop idol so she can meet with the boy of her dreams (who happens to be a big star) on an equal footing is targeted at girls from 6-12.
The other shojo series that Viz Media is
presenting, the 50-episode Nana
anime, is based on Ai Yazawa's Nana
manga and is targeted at mature viewers 18 and up. Viz Media has released the Nana manga here in North America where
it gaining in popularity and now a fixture on ICv2's "Top 50 Manga Properties"
list, and Viz Pictures has just released the first live action Nana movie (which came out in Japan in
2005) on DVD here in North America.
The Nana anime, which was produced by Madhouse, ran in