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Viz Media to Release Ranma 1/2 Anime on BD/DVD
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
North American manga and anime publisher Viz Media announced at its panel at Otakon on Saturday that it will release the Ranma 1/2 television anime series on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. The release will mark the first time the series will get a release on Blu-ray Disc in North America. The show will also debut this fall on Neon Alley, and will also stream on VizAnime.com. Additionally, Viz Media will host special Ranma 1/2 programming at New York Comic Con in October.
Viz Media had previously released the 161-episode series on VHS and DVD between 1995-2008. The show originally aired in Japan between 1989-1992.
Viz Media had announced at Anime Expo last month that it will put Rumiko Takahashi's original Ranma 1/2 manga back in print. The new version will read right to left for the first time in a North American release, and will be released in an omnibus format featuring two volumes in each omnibus. The first volume will ship on March 11, 2014 and will retail for US$14.99. Viz Media will release new volumes every two months.
Viz Media also announced that it will re-release Naoki Urasawa's Monster manga in a new edition. Monster: The Perfect Edition volume 1 will debut in July 2014 for US$19.99. The new oversized omnibus edition will bundle two volumes of the manga in each volume. New volumes will be available every three months. The company previously released the 18-volume series between 2006-2008. The manga about a young doctor who ruins his career by saving a boy's life only for the boy to years later become a sociopath inspired a 74-episode television anime series in 2004-2005. Viz Media streamed the anime series, but has since let its license to the show expire.
