At Anime Expo VIZ Media announced a number of new publishing initiatives for 2016 including Masashi Kisimoto’s sequel to his bestselling Naruto manga, Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, a one-volume saga set shortly after the final chapter of the Naruto manga and serves as a prequel of sorts for the next Naruto movie.  Other shonen titles announced for 2016 include a full color edition of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Freeza Arc, and the school litigation series School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotel.  In addition VIZ announced two new shojo manga, each of which is from a top creator, as well as the publication of the science fiction novel series Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

The two shojo series announced at Anime Expo include Shuriken and Pleats, the latest series from Matsuri Hino, creator of Vampire Knight, as well as Behind the Scenes, a new manga from Bisco Hatori, the creator of the Ouran High School Host Club.

Debuting in the spring of 2016 will be Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Dawn, the first volume in the space opera by Yoshiki Tanaka that is set in the 36th Century, but which takes its basic narrative from the struggles of the European colonial powers in the 19th Century.  According to the Anime News Network, Sentai Filmworks recently announced the acquisition of the North American rights to the LOGH anime series, which consists of 110 episodes and several anime feature films and OVAs produced from 1988-2000.