Ultimo manga “Part III” will be coming soon

Viz has recently updated it’s website with a bunch of interviews and pictures from San Diego Comic Con 2010. You can read the full articles below:

http://shonenjump.viz.com/features/index.php?id=408

One of the biggest announcements is that “Part III” of the manga will be coming soon, starting in chapter 21, which will be released in JumpSQ in October. This would be the first chapter in volume 6 of the manga. Currently, chapter 20 will be released in Jump SQ on September 4th in Japan. This chapter would also complete the 5th volume of manga, which will be released in November 2010.

SDCC 2010 – Shonen Jump Panel Report

Yesterday, Viz held it’s annual Shonen Jump Panel at San Diego Comic Con, which covers details about current and upcoming releases. This year, new announcements were very limited, but some information about Shaman King and Ultimo were hinted at. Additionally, the Shonen Jump magazine will also be recieving a “face-lift” in December. This could include additional content online (such as online chapters), though this statement was not made at the time.

At 5:32 in the video, the question of “Will there be an end to Ultimo at some point?” was asked to the Shonen Jump Panel (not Takei). The response basically was it would be up to Takei when he feels the ending should be.

At 6:16 in the video the following was asked: “Are we going to be seeing the extended Kanzenban endings for Shaman King and DragonBall?” The response:

“Uh.. Do you mean Today…? Ever…? We’ve had a few fans ask… Do you want to see that? Do you know what he’s talking about? [*crowd cheers*] So in Japan after they put out the first manga in the magazine then it goes into regulat takoban format, after that, a few years later, after the series has ended, they collect it and do a nicer edition. Sometimes there is an alternate ending, or extra content, or stuff like that. So that’s what he is refering to. So there is one for Shaman King and Dragonball, and we haven’t published those here. But is that something you guys would like to see? [*crowd cheers*] I’ll officially put that on the consideration list.

At 11:14 in the video, the panel announces that Stan Lee wasn’t feeling well, but their surprise was Hiroyuki Takei would make an appearance instead.

Joel: First off, new cover [of Shonen Jump USA], right there. Really quickly volume 2 just came out this month, number 3 is coming out in December here. So what were your first impressions seeing the book in English?

Takei: So my answer to what I think about it… So when work is translated into English it becomes something of it’s own entity. So that would also influence how awesome a series is as well. So I really honestly hope all of you study Japanese.

Joel: So in Shonen Jump magazine we are a little bit into Part 2 of the story now. And part 1 is finishing up in the graphic novels. So without giving any spoilers is there anything cool you can tell us that’s happening? Part 1 was really epic story. What do we have coming in Part 2 that you can talk about?

Takei: [*Takei laughing*] The interesting thing about chapter 2 is that it won’t get interesting until chapter 3. [*crowd laughs*] But! But! I promise you Part 3 is going to be really, really awesome! [*crowd applause*] I’m always constantly searching for something in the darkness… blindfolded completely… but finally I recently reached this path that’s definately going to be kick ass. So please look forward to that and please bear with Ultimo. [*Takei laughs, crowd cheers*]

SDCC 2010 – Hiroyuki Takei & Stan Lee to appear at SJ Panel

On Saturday, Viz’s Shonen Jump panel will be from 10:30am to 11:30am in Room 9 at San Diego Comic-Con International. Attending the panel will be the following people:

  • Hiroyuki Takei (Creator of Shaman King, Jumbor, and Co-creator of Ultimo)
  • Stan Lee (Head of POW Ent., Co-Creator of Ultimo)
  • Mr. Kosuge (小菅) (Editor at JumpSQ)

We will have full coverage of the panel relating to various Takei series throughout the weekend. Please check back often.

SDCC 2010 – Shonen Jump Panel Predictions

On this coming Saturday morning Viz Media will be holding it’s “Shonen Jump” Press/Industry/Fan Panel at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). As mentioned in previous articles (Cite 1, Cite 2), Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei will both be making a return visit to the convention. Like last year, it is very likely that there will be a Q&A session with them, but there could also be a few announcements. The following is a series of PREDICTIONS of what COULD be announced at the panel (related to Hiroyuki Takei’s series). Please check back over the following days for more details of the panel and the convention.

Prediction 1: Announcement of “same month” Ultimo manga in english online
On Viz’s Shonen Jump website, they have a special area called the “Sub Club.” This area is designed for special extras for people to subscribe to the magazine each month. It’s very likely that Viz has worked out a way for the Ultimo manga to be uploaded in this area to be given as a free benefit for the people who subscribe to the magazine. The series would still be printed in the magazine, but it would give the benefit of a subscription-like service, but maintain actual hard copies. Additionally, they could catch up with Japan (and be in front of the magazine in the US) and have the same chapter released in Japan and the USA in the same month.
Estimated Release: October 2010

Prediction 2: Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang (Complete Edition) is announced
The sales for the Shaman King manga have been passable. Not knock your socks off, but do a bit better than break even. However, Viz is basically selling an incomplete product, and Shueisha wants to try to sell Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang as a brand new series. My prediction is that Viz has worked out an agreement and will begin to release the conclusion in 2-3 volumes. These volumes would be additions to the current running series, and be sold as a sequel, not a complete redraw of the series. This 3 volume set would be released bi-monthly, and contain a collection of the extras (Shaman Files, Last Words) from the KZB sets. They would be sold at a slightly higher premium price of $12.99 but would have several color pages in them in addition to the new chapters.
Estimated Release: March 2011

Predicition 3: Jumbor is announced for release
As Jumbor is just starting in Japan this month, Viz may want to continue it’s collection of Takei series (with SK and Ultimo) and grab this new series as well. How it will be released is something that is hard to predict. It could be online, it could be in Shonen Jump, it could be somewhere else. This could also include the original series of “Jyuki Ningen Jumbor” being released as well.
Estimated Release: October 2010 – May 2011

Prediction 4: Ultimo Anime is announced
When the series was originally announced, it was hinted at an anime would also happen as well. However, there has been little to no word on this happening. Viz could take this as a chance to announce that Ultimo will become an anime. However, rather than a full anime series, it will be a full feature length movie with a release in Spring/Summer 2011. This announce would be a rather big shock since it hasn’t even been hinted at, but we would welcome the surprise if it did!
Estimated Release: Spring/Summer 2011

So, those are my predictions of what could be announced this weekend. I hope for all of them to come true, but we are more likely just to get the first one. Be sure to check back later this weekend for all of the up-to-the-minute details from all of Hiroyuki Takei’s series!

Viz’s Ultimo website updated & additional SDCC info

Earlier this week, Ultimo volume 2 and Shaman King volume 29 were both released in the US by Viz for $9.99. With this release, Viz has update it’s Ultimo website to the new address: http://ultimo.viz.com. This new website is primairly the same as the old website, but now features Ultimo volume 2 and a cleaner layout. New additions to the site is Stan Lee’s official twitter feed and a gallery that is “coming soon”. The banner of the website is very similar to the one on the Japanese JumpSQ website  (caution: may contain spoilers).

Viz has also sent out a press release detailing Stan Lee’s signings of Ultimo at Comic-Con. A few new details not mentioned in our original story have been released. Viz’s Shonen Jump panel will be on Saturday July 24th from 10:30am to 11:30am in Room 9. The press release didn’t mention Hiroyuki Takei’s appearance. The signings will take place on July 24th at 1:15pm at Viz’s booth. The original news post has been updated with this information.

Interviews with the creators of Ultimo

With Hiroyuki Takei’s and Stan Lee’s latest appearance at Comic Con, several interviews were conducted with the two creators. Below are three interviews with them. Some of the questions and answers came from Viz’s Shonen Jump panel that both were at.

4 page interview with Lee and Takei: http://manga.about.com/od/mangaartistinterviews/a/stanlee_hiroyukitakei_2.htm

1 page interview with Lee: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/15526.html

1 page interview with Takei: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/15527.html

Ultimo is currently up to chapter 3 in Viz’s monthly Shonen Jump magazine with the latest issue currently on newsstands.

Takei and Lee at SDCC on 7/24

In the July 11th Shonen Jump newsletter, Viz has announced that both Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei will be at their panel at the San Diego Comic Con, in San Diego, CA, USA. The panel will take place in Room 10 at 10:30am until 11:30am. Takei’s appearance is a last minute addition that had not been announced, or promoted prior. At Anime Expo, a few weeks ago, Viz hinted at that Ultimo will have a strong presence at their panel at SDCC. This panel will cover Viz’s entire Shonen Jump line, not just Ultimo. In the panel description, at least Stan Lee will give a short comment about working on Ultimo. There are currently no scheduled autograph sessions, or Q&A sessions with Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee.

However not confirmed, it’s likely that Viz will have their own interview with Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee, and will release this interview in Shonen Jump in a few months. Viz will most likely license “Heroman,” another manga Stan Lee is working with that will start up in Japan next month. Another possible announcement is that the Ultimo anime might start production soon, however, this is just a guess. It is unlikely that any Shaman King news will be announced at this time. Whatever does happen at this panel, though I won’t be there, I will do my best to report on everything that will be said.

Last year, at the New York Comic Con, Stan Lee made a surprise visit to help promote the soon to be released Ultimo manga. Viz is also having a contest starting on July 15th, where you can send in your questions to be answered by Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee. Link: http://shonenjump.viz.com/askultimo/ Unlike with the Mentalite in Japan, Hiroyuki Takei will not personally read all these messages, as Viz will most likely filter these messages and pick which ones to give to him.