Viz Media Launches Sci-Fi Manga Series World Trigger in Graphic Novel Format

San Francisco, CA, September 16, 2014 – Viz Media, LLC (Viz Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announces the print and digital launch of creator Daisuke Ashihara's thrilling sci-fi action manga series – WORLD TRIGGER – in a dedicated graphic novel format on October 7th. The series is currently being serialized chapter-by-chapter SIMULTANEOUS to Japan in the pages of the digital anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP.

WORLD TRIGGER will be published under the Shonen Jump imprint with the first two volumes releasing simultaneously on October 7th. Volumes 1 and 2 are rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN each. New volumes are scheduled to be released bi-monthly.

Digital versions of WORLD TRIGGER also will launch for $6.99 (USD/CAN) each on the same day on VIZManga.com and through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, Android-powered smart phones, as well as through the Nook, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks, Comixology and GooglePlay stores.

Destroy thy Neighbor! Earth is under constant threat from Neighbors, invincible monsters from another dimension that destroy humanity's way of life. At least there are the elite agents of Border, warriors who co-opt alien technology to fight back. Our hero Osamu Mikumo may not be the best agent, but along with his Neighbor friend Yuma, he'll do whatever it takes to defend life on Earth as we know it.

In the series' opening volume, when straight-laced Osamu meets a feisty humanoid Neighbor named Yuma, everything that he thinks is right is turned on its head. Can the two natural enemies ever become friends?

Things become tense and the action heats up in Volume 2. Osamu has protected the feisty Neighbor's identity ever since they met, but he's about to get a rude awakening when he discovers that Border has ways of sniffing out traitors in their midst.

“WORLD TRIGGER begins four years after a gate to another dimension opens, letting alien Neighbors invade and the unlikely heroic duo of Osamu and Yuma must deploy powerful weaponry called Triggers to defeat the invaders and save the world,” says Hope Donovan, Editor. “WORLD TRIGGER has captivated fans in serialized form in WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP, and with the anime releasing in October, we can't wait to introduce even more readers to the manga series with the simultaneous launch of the first two graphic novels in early October.”

WORLD TRIGGER creator Daisuke Ashihara began his manga career at the age of 27 when his manga, Room 303, won second place in the 75th Osamu Tezuka Awards. His first full series, Super Dog Rilienthal, began serialization in Japan in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2009. WORLD TRIGGER is his second serialized work to appear in Weekly Shonen Jump and chapters also run in the English digital counterpart published by Viz Media. Daisuke Ashihara is also the author of several shorter works, including the Manga ONE-shots Super Dog Rilienthal, Trigger Keeper and Elite Agent Jin.

For more information on WORLD TRIGGER, or other manga titles from Viz Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

WORLD TRIGGER © 2013 by Daisuke Ashihara/SHUEIHSA Inc.

About Viz Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Viz Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha, Inc., Shogakukan, Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., Viz Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, Viz Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. Viz Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about Viz Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.