VOLTRON: FROM DAYS OF LONG AGO – A 30th ANNIVERSARY

 

VIZ MEDIA’S PERFECT SQUARE ANNOUNCES SPECIAL VOLTRON^® 30^th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE RELEASE

VOLTRON: FROM DAYS OF LONG AGO – A 30^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Charts The History And Impact of The Iconic Franchise On Pop Culture

   San Francisco, CA, October 20, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, takes readers on an exciting journey to explore the history and legacy of VOLTRON^®, the legendary giant robot anime series that marks the 30^th Anniversary of its original North American broadcast premiere.

VOLTRON: FROM DAYS OF LONG AGO, A 30^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION examines the entire VOLTRON universe and the property’s notable impact on pop culture and will be released in-print on October 28^th from the company’s Perfect Square imprint. The hardcover oversized edition will carry an MSRP of $29.99 U.S. / $34.99 CAN. 

  A digital version of VOLTRON: FROM DAYS OF LONG AGO, A 30^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION also will launch on October 28^th for $14.99 U.S. / CAN from the Perfect Square App, which has titles available for the Apple iPad^® and iPad^® Mini. The Perfect Square App is available from the iTunes store. Readers also will be able to find a digital version for the NOOK, Kindle Fire, and Kobo eReaders, as well as in the iBooks and GooglePlay Stores.

  Thirty years ago, Voltron: Defender of the Universe hit the airwaves, and the world hasn't been the same. Now, VOLTRON: FROM DAYS OF LONG AGO chronicles the story of VOLTRON and its cultural relevance, taking a detailed look at the story behind the show and the many related toy releases, the mythology of both Lion Force and Vehicle Voltron (with a nod to Albegas), and concludes the exciting Voltron Force saga. This new book is truly for fans, by fans: authored by Brian Smith, a former Marvel Comics editor and writer for Perfect Square's VOLTRON FORCE^® series of original graphic novels, Marc Morrell, co-host of the official "Let's Voltron!" podcast, and Joshua Bernard, founder of CollectionDX, a popular website devoted to covering the world of Japanese toys, action figures and pop culture; with a bonus VOLTRON comic written by Smith and illustrated by Jacob Chabot, artist on the VOLTRON FORCE series; with a foreword by Jeremy Corray, former Creative Director of World Events Productions, the company behind the classic Voltron TV series.

  “Voltron premiered on North American television in 1984 and the media landscape changed forever. There are so many VOLTRON fans, and we wanted to both honor their devotion and invite them to be a part of this project,” says Traci Todd, Senior Editor. “VOLTRON: FROM DAYS OF LONG AGO, A 30^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION offers fans a treasure trove of insights, history, and little-known facts about the evolution of the series and the show’s lasting pop culture impact.”

Additional information on VOLTRON FORCE and other titles published by Perfect Square is available at www.PerfectSquare.com. 

  For more information on manga and other titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

Manga Review: Heaven’s Will

 By: Aliraluna

Story and art by: Satoru Takamiya

Review:

 The Heaven to which you will someday return is the story of how Sudou Mikuzu, a girl with a phobia toward boys and scared of ghosts, met Seto Ashiya; a cross-dressing exorcist; and Kagari a beautiful vampire that can transform into a wolf. They all met at a famous haunted mansion that everyone knows about while trying to escape from a monster. A contract was made between Mizuku and Seto in which she will pay Seto with a cake every time he makes a ghost disappear. 

 Seto visits Mikuzu at school and she learns that she can see things that normal people can’t because she’s what’s called a Kenki and Oni is the term used referring to those creatures that nobody else could see. Days later, when Mikuzu is about to die at the hands of a monster, Seto and Kagari saved her. Much to Mikuzu’s surprise she finds out that the monster was the stalker that appeared everywhere she was- it was precisely because of this that he became a monster.  But when he was saved by Seto he explained that he wondered why he never confessed his love for Mikuzu. It was through this situation that Seto, Mukuzu and Kagari became friends and companions to exorcism the oni.

In Heaven’s Will, Mikuzu will learn why Seto Ashiya started to cross dress and how Kagari met Seto; while the three of them try to exorcise the piano of Souichirou Takayanagi, the student council president of Seiou High School.  All this adventures will happen within a week!.

Characters overview:

 Sudou Mikuzu: She has short black hair, very slim and has big, black eyes. She’s very easily scared and has the power to see ghosts and many creatures. Has a phobia toward boys. Mikuzu is able to play the piano and bake cakes. 

 Seto Ashiya: Has long beautiful blonde hair and big brownish eyes; he dresses in Lolita fashion. His weapon is a beautiful, shiny fan that holds a mystery. He’s very strong and is the master of Kagari. Loves to eat cakes and really likes maple and butter syrup.

 Kagari: Has black hair and blue icy eyes and is very tall. He’s a vampire that can transform into a wolf. Since Seto is his master he feeds from him. Kagari tends to be very quiet. His only wish can only be granted by Seto.

Thoughts:

 It’s really sad that this story is a one-volume shot. There’s a letter inside the book in which the author explains that Mikuzu will never fall in love with Seto. We will never know if Seto changed his mind nor what will happen with Kagari, nor which was the real name of ‘Seto’. What we know is that Kagari seemed more at ease and that Mikuzu would be happy if the three of them stayed together. They all worked so hard to understand each other and become closer that it really touched my heart. Oh! And the “n” in the title has a little hat.