VIZ MEDIA TEAMS WITH JOOST™ TO DELIVER HIT SERIES NARUTO, BLEACH AND DEATH NOTE TO AN EVEN WIDER AUDIENCE

Web Video Portal to Offer Streamed Episodes of Three Hit Series Complemented with Social Interaction

VIZ Media, LLC. (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies has announced that Joost™, the world's first broadcast-quality internet television service, will carry the original Uncut (Japanese version/English subtitled) episodes of the hit animated series NARUTO, DEATH NOTE and BLEACH (coming soon) in the United States. Episodes will be made available for free at www.joost.com with new installments being added regularly.

With Joost, NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE fans will be able to watch these shows in their web browser while interacting with others in the Joost community. Whether they join or form fan groups around their favorite characters, or add their own comments to their favorite shows, Joost’s unique social features help a larger audience find and discover these hit shows.

“Joost recognizes a truly diverse community for content and has developed an interactive vehicle that will help build an even larger audience for NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE,” Ken Sasaki, Sr. Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, VIZ Media. “VIZ Media shares a vision to use the latest web technologies to make compelling animated content easily accessible in a legal, secure and high-quality format. We look forward to fans sharing their favorite episodes of NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE on Joost and taking advantage of its social features to discuss and trade commentary individual episodes and expand the global momentum behind these properties.”

Danny Passman, global head of programming for Joost, said, “Our goal is to be the leading online destination for premium, legal anime – and VIZ Media is a key partner in this objective. NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE have great fan bases because of their amazing artistry and compelling storylines, and with Joost’s social features, these shows will be introduced to an even larger audience.”

NARUTO (Uncut): Rated TV-14(English subtitled) http://www.joost.com/search?q=viz
NARUTO has become the hottest animated series across North America and is one of VIZ Media’s most successful manga and animated properties in terms of sales. Created by Masashi Kishimoto, the series depicts the adventures of a young boy named Uzumaki Naruto who trains to become a ninja. The boy is cursed with the spirit of a nine-tailed fox demon and is forced to live a bullied life discriminated against by his fellow villagers. Naruto is resilient and undaunted in his quest to become a master ninja and his determination often inspires those around him. Through amazing adventures, the young ninja learns the importance of friendship, teamwork, loyalty, hard work, creativity, ingenuity, and right vs. wrong. Dedicated website at www.naruto.com.

BLEACH (Uncut): Rated TV-14 (English subtitled)
BLEACH, an animated, hyperkinetic, ghost-busting action series is the story of a 15 year-old named Ichigo Kurosaki who was born with the ability to see ghosts. When his family is attacked by a Hollow – a malevolent lost soul – Ichigo encounters a Soul Reaper and absorbs her powers. Now he has dedicates his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured souls find peace. Dedicated website at www.bleach.viz.com.

DEATH NOTE (Uncut): Rated TV-14 (English subtitled) http://www.joost.com/search?q=viz
DEATH NOTE is based on the manga series of the same name and is currently one of the hottest animated titles in Japan. The series depicts the adventures of Light Yagami, an ace student with great prospects but who is bored out of his mind. All of that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals mysteriously begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to investigate, and he is soon hot on the trail of Light, who must now reevaluate his one noble goal. Dedicated website at www.deathnote.viz.com.

About Joost™
Founded by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, Joost brings video and social interaction together online. All of the video on Joost is professionally produced and streams on-demand to people around the world for free in a high-quality format. Today, Joost has more than 30,000 program elements, including more than 400 television series and 1,200 movie and short film titles. For more information, visit http://www.joost.com.

Bleach promotional image