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Slam Dunk release by Viz?




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primehunter



Joined: 11 Jun 2005
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:33 am Reply with quote
This speculation is really for anyone who subscribed to Animerica and recently recieved Shojo Beat v.1 in the mail. On page 282, just before Crimson Hero begins, there's a small section called "Show Me the Shonen!" which talks about the Shonen sports titles released here in the states by other companies, and also Viz. Here's the article:

"Overall, more shonen sports manga than shojo is available in the United States - but just as shojo is not just for girls, shonen isn't just for boys. One popular manga story from Japan, the animation Mach Go Go Go, came to the United States as Speed Racer. It ran on U.S. network television for nearly 20 years, starting in 1967, and MTV then re-aired it in the '90s. Kyojin no Hoshi (Star of the Giants), a shonen sports manga from the same era, featured a player on the famous Yomiuri Giants baseball team. The team was incredibly popular at the time (and remains so), and both the manga and the anime were a hit in Japan. A later boxing-themed series, Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow's Joe), dealt with the life of competative athletes. These days, you can take your pick of sports in shonen manga, including tennis (The Prince of Tennis), soccer (Whistle!), football (Eyeshield 21), and - coming soon - basketball (Slamdunk)."

Since Gutsoon! is long gone, and they USED to release Slam Dunk, maybe Viz picked up the license for the series? It goes the same for Fist of the North Star. Viz used to release it back in the 90s in comic form, but then it got released in Raijin by Gutsoon!. I was hoping someone could try to find out if Viz owns the license for Slam Dunk, or if they're just stating Gutsoon!'s coming back, which I doubt.
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milcor1



Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Posts: 337
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:15 pm Reply with quote
If it's true, nice Smile.
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Godaistudios



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2075
Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment)
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:16 pm Reply with quote
Well, that does give cause for speculation, doesn't it? I was introduced to Slam Dunk through fansubs several years ago. It was nice and gritty, and stood out in the sports genre. After the manga was licensed, (and I really was just getting into manga as a whole at the time) I was looking forward to it being released.

Honestly, I think Raijin should have brought more focus its GN line when they saw the anthology was failing. Instead, they folded as a company. I figure that they probably sold off their licenses, and I have no issues with that. I do hope that Slam Dunk will be released, and if Viz does indeed have it, I look forward to a decent release.

Now if only somebody would get around to licensing the Hajime no Ippo manga... Smile
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red stranger



Joined: 26 Dec 2004
Posts: 184
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:23 pm Reply with quote
I hope Viz gets Slam Dunk, not because I like Slam Dunk, but because it will mean the Gutsoon/Raijin licences are back on the market again.

Please, somebody pick up City Hunter!
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alice20th



Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 74
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 2:04 pm Reply with quote
I wouldn't put too much hope in the articles in the Viz magazines. They tend to use freelance talent to write the articles, and the freelance people don't have any more inside information than you or me. Besides, technically there still are copies of Raijin graphic novels still on the shelves.

If anybody used to read Animerica Extra, also put out by Viz, you'd know that they used to have a 1-page rundown of popular unlicensed manga series. There was a lot of speculation that those series were ones that Viz was trying to license. But in the end, some were licensed by Viz, some by other companies, and some were never licensed at all. There really seemed to be no connection to what Viz licensed.

On the other hand, since Viz licenses Vagabond by the same author as Slam Dunk, and they're a daughter company of Slam Dunk's original publisher (Shueisha), if Slam Dunk is going to be licensed again, then Viz would have the inside track.
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cboudreau



Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 69
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 11:55 am Reply with quote
This would be good news if it turns out to be true. It's always a shame when a publisher goes under and series are left in limbo.
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darkhunter



Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2992
Location: Los Angelas
PostPosted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 2:11 pm Reply with quote
I guess we will just have to wait and see until it's confirm. I still own all 5 book that Raijin put out, so I want to get the rest. But it's only speculation right now, so it's not somthing I would get excited about unless it's true.

Slam dunk has a good chance of being under ths Shonen Jump line for 8 buck.


Last edited by darkhunter on Sun Jun 12, 2005 2:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Godaistudios



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2075
Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment)
PostPosted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 2:18 pm Reply with quote
If they are to put it out, I'd think that they'd want it all under their own line. Expect a re-printing of the first five volumes with the Viz label on them at the very least.
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Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Boston
PostPosted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 9:29 pm Reply with quote
It wouldn't suprise me. I'm sure that SD has a ton of potential to become on of their best sellers, with the Shonen Jump crowd and with the Inoue fans. I can't comment on how it ends up in the future (if Vagabond is any indication it'll drag) but the first five trade were some of the best Shonen I've read. Too bad the quality of the product won't be up to the Rajin standard...
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utawoutau



Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 190
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:09 pm Reply with quote
Hmmm.....

Slam Dunk is a great series if you can sit down with a couple of volumes and read them all at once. Although that is probably true of all series, Slam Dunk is one of those series that really draws out competitions for waaaaaay to long.

Don't get me wrong, it is an interesting series. But how upset would you be if after say you go out and buy volume 10 hoping to see the resolution of a game that started in volume 8, but find out that volume 10 only covers 5 mintues of game time, and the game goes on to volume 11? Okay, maybe that is somewhat of an exaggeration....but only somewhat. Very Happy
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Ken-san



Joined: 16 Sep 2003
Posts: 32
Location: Michigan
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:55 pm Reply with quote
Godaistudios wrote:

Now if only somebody would get around to licensing the Hajime no Ippo manga... Smile


Amen to that my friend!
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