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Viz Adds Legend of Galactic Heroes Novels, One-Punch Man Anime (Updated)

Viz Media announced at its panel at Anime Expo on Thursday that it has licensed Yoshiki Tanaka's The Legend of the Galactic Heroes novels, the anime adaptation of Yuusuke Murata and ONE's manga One-Punch Man, and Boruto the Movie.

The Legend of the Galactic Heroes will be released from Viz Media's Haikasoru imprint. Haikasoru has the first three volumes scheduled, starting with volume one in spring 2016, and will release more depending on the success of the first three.

The 10 main novel volumes and four side-story volumes in the Legend of the Galactic Heroes saga have sold 15 million copies and earned Tanaka a Seiun Award. Besides Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Tanaka also wrote the original novel inspirations for The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Ryoko's Case File, Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings, and Tytania anime projects.

The story follows the epic conflict between the Galactic Empire and Free Planets Alliance, as well as the personal stories of Imperial Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm and the Alliance's Yang Wen-Li.

The late director Noboru Ishiguro (Macross, Orguss, Megazone 23) and his Artland anime studio spent more than a decade adapting the novels into a theatrical and video anime franchise, with over 100 installments, from 1988 to 2000.

A stage production of the series had announced last year that a new anime adaptation was in the works. The new anime is not a remake of the earlier anime, but another anime adaptation of the original novels with a new staff.

Viz Media will stream the One-Punch Man television anime series on its website and on Daisuki.

The manga revolves around the titular super hero who has trained so hard that his hair has fallen out, and who can overcome any enemy with one punch. However, because he is so strong, he has become bored and frustrated with winning all his battles so easily.

Murata's manga series adapts ONE's original web manga of the same name. Murata's manga is currently running on Shueisha's free Tonari no Young Jump spinoff website, and Shueisha published the eighth compiled volume on April 3.

One-Punch Man is currently serialized in Viz Media's English-language digital edition of Weekly Shonen Jump. Viz will release the first two volumes in print this September.

Boruto the movie will open in theaters in Japan on August 7.

Original Naruto manga creator Masashi Kishimoto is credited with the original story, script, and character designs, as well as the chief production supervisor, for the film. Hiroyuki Yamashita (Naruto Shippūden episode director, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie animation director) is directing the film, and Ukyō Kodachi (Chaos Dragon, Neppu Kairiku Bushi Road) is collaborating with Kishimoto on the script.

Weekly Shonen Jump describes the story of the new film as follows (Note: the below summary contains spoilers for those who have not finished reading the manga):

Boruto is the son of the seventh Hokage Naruto who completely rejects his father. Behind this, he has feelings of wanting to surpass Naruto, who is respected as a hero. He ends up meeting his father's friend Sasuke, and requests to become... his apprentice!? The curtain rises on the story of the new generation written by Masashi Kishimoto!

In addition, the company announced its plans to release the Freeza Arc of the Dragon Ball full-color manga. Both are set for release in spring 2016.

Viz Media began serializing the full-color version of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga in its Weekly Shonen Jump digital anthology in 2013. The company released the first full-color volume in print in 2014.

Finally, Viz also announced that it will release the Death Note anime series on Blu-ray. The company did not provide a release window.

Viz Media has released Death Note on DVD in four-episode sets, half-series sets, and as a complete collection. The series is also available streaming on Netflix and Hulu.

Update: Videos added.

Update 2: Although a website had listed an October premiere for the One-Punch Man anime, the premiere date has yet to be announced.