March 2009 Releases

March has a bunch of releases all over the world, from Japan, to the USA, and the UK. So, let’s start where it all comes from, Japan.

KZB25LQOn March 4th, Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang ( シャーマンキング 完全版 ) volumes 25 and 26 will be released. Each volume will sell for 932yen (plus tax). Volume 25 contains reprints of chapters 267-277, Visionz 4, and Funbari No Uta 4. Chapters 269-277 were originally chapters 267-275 printed in Volume 31.  Chapters 278-279 were originally chapters 276-277 printed in Volume 32. The ISBN is 978-4-08-874227-4 and contains 260 pages.

KZB26LQ

Volume 26 contains chapter 280-286 was originally Chapters 278-284, from Volume 32. Chapter 287 was originally chapter 285, only released in Volume 32, however, this chapter for the Kang Zeng Bang has been rewritten and the original should be discarded as an alternate story. Finally, chapters 287-291 are new chapters only printed in this KZB release. A preview for chapter 288 was released online for free on Feb 28th, 2009 which can be found here. The ISBN is 978-4-08-874228-1 and contains 248 pages.

The final Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang volume, 27, will be released on April 4th and contain all new chapters and the final conclusion to the Shaman King manga.

Also in Japan, Ultimo chapter 2 will be released Jump SQ on March 4th as well.

SK20USASK21USAOn March 2nd, Shaman King volume 20 will be released in the UK in Enlgish. This is the same release as Viz’s English USA release. Volume 21 will be released May 5th and volume 22 on July 6th in the UK.

On the following day, March 3rd, Shaman King volume 21 will be released in English in the United States by Viz.  Volume 22 wil be released on May 5th, volume 23 on July 7th, and volume 24 on September 1st.

December SK releases in Japan

On December 4th, Shaman King Volumes 19 & 20 of the Kang Zeng Bang reprints were released in Japan.

シャーマンキング 完全版 19 & 20

KZB19LQKZB20LQ

Price: 1000yen
Number of Pages: 236
ISBN
Volume 19: 978-4-08-874221-2
Volume 20: 978-4-08-874222-9
View Sample Pages:
Volume 19
Volume 20

Within the first week of sales, volume 19 had 25,862 sales and volume 20 had 25,495 sales. In terms of ranking for just number of sales, this places both volumes in the 27th and 28th positions respectively. However, if you count in terms of sales value, Shaman King was a little bit under the top 10 in terms of profit for the week (placing in and around 12-15th places). In the previous month,  in the week of November 4-11th, the reprint volumes 17 & 18 had higher sales numbers with 29,942 & 29,501. Which is all interesting numbers since, the odd number volume averages about 400 more sales within the first week, 2 releases directly after each other. This is showing that Shaman King is having a very solid fanbase who are repurchasing these volumes for their collections (just like our staff!).

On December 25th of this year, the final Shaman King DVD box set, BOX 3, will be released in Japan for 26,250 yen.
Shaman King DVD box 3

This final set will have 7 DVDs which will span episodes 45 to 64 of the original anime and some additional extras, specials, and an OVA. All of this DVD content has been released prior as extras on various CDs and DVDs (And PS2 DVD if you really want to be specific). DVDs 1-5 will contain episodes, while DVD 6 will contain the OVA 哀しみのかたち~葉王伝説~ (“The Form That Sadness Takes”), which is a recap of many of the scenes involving Hao. This OVA had already been released on VHS and DVD on 7/24/2003. DVD 7 contains the “PVs” from the S.F.O.V. CD singles (Shaman Fight of Vocal, a series of 6 CD albums), which were released on 3/24/2004. This final DVD also contains some additional extras and OVA segments, which were also released prior at various dates.

The only two pieces of new content for this box set release is the cover art for the front and back of the DVD set, and the 16 page booklet which is included. In this booklet, a summery of the content of the DVDs is included in addition with a interview with some of the voice actors of the Shaman King anime series. Hiroyuki Takei was invited to come to the round table interview session, however, he declined because he was “too busy working on the kanzenban [reprint volumes].” The members of the interview roundtable are, Yuuko Satou (Yoh), Minami Takayama (Hao), Megumi Hayashibara (Anna), Inuko Inuyama  (Manta), and Seiji Mizushima (Director of Anime, including Shaman King, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Gundam00). Seiji Mizshima was part of the first interview which was included with the DVD-Box 1. However, no interview was included with DVD-box2.

According the Amazon.co.jp’s internal rankings, at the time of publishing, this DVD box set is ranked #2,551 in terms of bestselling DVDs. This number is higher already than both of the box sets prior. However, these numbers can change over time, and Amazon is only one retailer (however popular, and keeps accurate statistics).

Sources:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-12-12/japanese-comic-ranking-december-3-9  
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-11-12/japanese-comic-ranking-november-4-10
http://yukorugan.blog.shinobi.jp/Entry/140/

Upcoming Viz releases (Vol 19-22)

Shaman King Volume 19 USAOn November 4th, Viz released its 19th volume of the Shaman King manga in the United States. The ISBN is 1-4215-1940-2, 192 pages, and a MSRP is $7.95. The title for the volume is “Au Revoir Mt. Osore” with the following summery of the volume:

The unthinkable has happened: Yoh has withdrawn from the Shaman Fight! What happens now? To understand Yoh’s future we must revisit his past, back to when he and Anna first met. How did their acquaintance shape Yoh’s fate, and what terrible secret still burns between them?

The United Kingdom release of this volume will be released on January 5th, 2009.

Shaman King Volume 20 USAThe following day, January 6th, 2009, Shaman King Volume 20 will be released in the USA by Viz. It’s ISBN is 1-4215-2004-4, 192 pages, and again, has a MSRP for $7.95. And the UK release for this volume is on March 2nd. The title for the volume is “Epilogue”  with the following summery of the volume:

We continue to look back to the past, when Yoh and Anna were bound together and Matamune sacrificed himself to save them. But in the present, Yoh seems to have sacrificed his chance to become Shaman King, and Ren still lies unconscious. Will Lady Jeanne keep her end of the bargain and save Ren’s life?

Finally, Viz has released the dates and cover art for the following 2 volumes:
Shaman King Volume 21 USAShaman King Volume 22 USA

Shaman King Volume 21
ISBN: 1-4215-2005-2
US Release Date: March 3, 2009
UK Release Date: May, 5, 2009

Shaman King Volume 22
ISBN: 1-4215-2006-0
US Release Date: May 5, 2009