Viz Debuts Shonen Jump Advanced

by Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 1/3/2005

Manga publisher Viz, which publishes a variety of family-friendly manga, is starting a new imprint under its Shonen Jump line called Shonen Jump Advanced, which will release "edgier" manga titles aimed at older teens and young adults.

The line will launch in April 2005 with three titles: Eyeshield 21 by Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata, a sports manga about American football; Hunter X Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi (creator of the popular Yuyu Hakusho), about the son of a famous hunter; and I''S by Masakazu Katsura (creator ofVideo Girl Ai), about a typically complicated high school crush.

Liza Coppolla, v-p of sales and marketing, said, "We want parents to recognize that Shonen Jump Advanced books will be different from the standard manga."