Over the past week, Viz Media has been busy announcing a range of new manga titles coming later this year, including Assassination Classroom and Master Keaton to name a few.
Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyōshitsu) by Yusei Matsui is currently published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan and is nearing its second year anniversary. Planned for release in both print and digitally in December of this year, it’s a surprise this hasn’t happen sooner.
“A humorous and action-packed story about a class of misfits who are trying to kill their new teacher – an alien octopus with bizarre powers and super strength! The teacher has just destroyed the moon and is threatening to destroy the earth – unless his students can destroy him first. What makes things more complicated is that he’s the best teacher they’ve ever had!” (Viz Media)
Master Keaton by Naoki Urasawa, Hokusei Katushika and Takashi Nagasaki was originally published in 1998 within the pages of Big Comic Original it spans 12 volumes and has seen a sequel released in 2012. Master Keaton has never been released in English until now, with the first volume hitting stores in December it joins other Urasawa manga such as 20th Century Boys, Monster and Pluto.
“The riveting detective drama introduces Taichi Hiraga-Keaton, an archaeology professor and part-time insurance investigator known for his successful and unorthodox methods of investigation. The son of a Japanese zoologist and an English noblewoman, educated in archaeology at Oxford and a former member of the SAS, Master Keaton uses his knowledge and combat training to uncover buried secrets, thwart would-be villains, and pursue the truth.” (Viz Media)
A print version of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman (Ginga Patrol Jako) by Akira Toriyama will be released in January 2015. It was previously available digitally via Viz Media’s Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine. To be included in the release is the bonus Dragonball Z manga which features Goku’s mother that Toriyama created to be released within the Japanese volume of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman.
*Dates given for Print releases refer to the North American release, so there will be some differences to the release dates for the UK.
Sources: Viz Media, Anime News Network