VIZ CINEMA TO HOST THE EXCLUSIVE THEATRICAL PREMIERE OF NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE

World’s Most Popular Ninja Returns To The Big Screen In A Dangerous New Mission Where Death May Be The Only Way To Succeed

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s first and only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese films and anime, has announced a special U.S. theatrical premiere of NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE on October 6th and 7th. Two showings are scheduled each day, at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., and will be presented as part of the theatre’s Weeknight Anime People programming.

In the newest animated adventure, which is the fourth in the popular NARUTO movie series, a powerful spirit that once threatened to destroy the world is back! Naruto’s mission is to protect a priestess named Shion, who is the only one with the power to seal away the monster. She also has the uncanny ability to predict someone’s fate, and her latest prophecy is that Naruto will die. His only hope is to abandon Shion, but that’s not Naruto’s style. He decides to challenge her prediction head on, but it may very well cost the young ninja’s life!

VIZ Cinema is a 143-seat subterranean theatre owned and operated by VIZ Pictures and located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building in the heart of San Francisco’s historic Japantown. The theatre features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system. Ticket information and details on all of October’s films are available at: www.vizcinema.com.

The NARUTO Shippuden manga and animated series pick up two years after Naruto left to train with his teacher and mentor Jiraiya. Now a teenager, the stories in the new series take a more mature and sometimes darker approach as Naruto returns to the Hidden Leaf Village to reunite with his old friends and discover that they are stronger than before – and maybe even stronger than he is! For Naruto, the spirit of a nine-tailed fox spirit trapped inside him is a metaphor for adolescence. There is a powerful force in this spunky teenager and he must learn to conquer it and overcome his own uncontrollable spirit and emotions while battling an array of villains and completing near-impossible missions. VIZ Media is scheduled to release the DVD of NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE on November 10th.

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, NARUTO was first introduced in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999 and quickly became that country’s most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens and has sold more than 92 million copies to-date. NARUTO has also become an international phenomenon captivating millions of fans across North America, Europe and South America. VIZ Media publishes the manga series (rated ‘T’ for Teens) and distributes the animated counterpart (NARUTO rated ‘T’ for teens, and NARUTO Shippuden rated ‘T+’ for older teens) which are some of the company’s most successful properties. NARUTO is a co-production of TV TOKYO, VIZ Media parent company Shueisha Inc., and Pierrot Co., Ltd.

For more information on NARUTO Shippuden, and to view NARUTO Shippuden episodes (subtitled), please visit the official NARUTO website at www.naruto.com.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and  is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Naruto Shippuden Anime key visual image