This week, it's dissension in the ranks in Buso Renkin! Captain Bravo may be willing to let Kazuki go, but Hiwatari from the Re-extermination Squad is determined to take our hero down, even if it means fanning the flames -- literally. Kazuki is going to have to fight fire with fire... or maybe a certain Warrior Chief will have to intervene... We're fast approaching the climax of the Buso Renkin series, so climb aboard at the Buso Renkin page, where all our episodes are located!


Episode 21: Gone Into Flame
Hiwatari’s Buso Renkin, Blaze of Glory, engulfs everyone but the Silver Skin-equipped Bravo…or so it seems. To Hiwatari’s surprise, inside the two Silver Skins were Kazuki, Tokiko, and Gota.

Episode 22: A Decision Is Required
The Alchemist Army delivers a full-scale attack against Victor. But in the midst of the attack, Victor’s evolution reaches its final stage, increasing his powers to unimaginable levels.

You figure that with a series titled The Prince of Tennis that the lead character is the best player on the court, right? Not so fast! An injured Captain Tezuka is ready to challenge our hero Ryoma to a match -- and maybe prove a point about Ryoma's motivations. We all know that Ryoma is aiming to take down his father, the former all-world tennis pro Nanjiro Echizen, but is the desire to beat one person enough to take you to the top of your game?

You have to admire the "tough love" approach upperclassman Tezuka takes in his match with underclassman Ryoma -- it's a pretty common theme in anime and manga, but here it gets taken to an extreme as Tezuka risks his own ability to physically play tennis! Ah, the devotion and mutual respect between senpai and kōhai -- it's enough to bring a tear to the eye. Where else are you going to find psychology, destiny and desire, plus a whole lot of strategic tennis, coming together in a sports anime? Check it all out in the Prince of Tennis section!

Episode 25: Seigaku's Strongest Man, Part 1
Captain Tezuka challenges Ryoma to a match because he feels Ryoma’s tennis is a copy of his father’s game, even though he is staking his own health. He wants to challenge Ryoma to aim higher, beyond just wanting to beat his father.

Episode 26: Seigaku's Strongest Man, Part 2
Shuichiro Oishi watches Tezuka and Ryoma play their game, worried that Tezuka may injure his already weakened arm.

February has been a busy month for the Nana anime. We've added more subtitled episodes here on VIZ Anime, and Nana: Uncut Box Set, Vol. 3 is available at store.viz.com and other DVD retailers nationwide. I want to talk in particular about the DVD box sets, because there's a lot more to them than you might know.

When I heard VIZ Media was releasing DVD box sets of the Nana anime, I quickly volunteered to be the DVD animation production associate for the project. I love the Nana manga, and the anime adaptation features songs by Anna Tsuchiya and Olivia and background music by Tomoki Hasegawa. I was excited to try to bring all that to a DVD product.

The approvals coordinator and designers did a really great job capturing the spirit of the series in the package design. They used the style and colors from the Nana anime, incorporating elements from the mid-century-influenced Nana Komatsu (aka Hachi) and the punk-rock Nana Osaki. Side by side, all four box sets look good displayed on your shelf.

In Every Box Set
Packed in every box set, you will find these goodies. There are two audio tracks — the original Japanese and English — as well as subtitles that are directly translated from the Japanese. You'll get "clean" versions (without the rolling text credits on top) of the opening and endings of each episode. And you'll get a line art gallery, which are reference drawings used in animation production to ensure the animators keep characters and objects looking consistent.

The DVD series also feature special bonus episodes every 12th episode that recap the previous 11 episodes. These take place in a bar called Junko’s Place, run by Hachi's best friend Junko. Right now these special episodes are available only if you buy a DVD box set or a Season Set on iTunes.

Plus Something Special…
We also added unique extras, specific to each box set. Box set 1 contains an exclusive interview with Morio Asaka, the director of the Nana anime, at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con International. Specially marked units of box set 1 come with a NANA guitar pick, which has a nice heavy gauge that has helped me become a better guitar player. Box set 2 has a special version of one of the songs.

Box set 3 contains three clean versions of the ending credits. There's the "Regular" edition, the "Storyboard" edition that shows a storyboarded version of the ending credits, and the "Multi" edition that shows the two other versions in a picture-in-picture format. I like this third version the best since you can study how the credits were taken from storyboard to screen.

Box set 4, due out in April 2010, contains an animated video from the original Japanese DVDs for Anna Tsuchiya's song "Lucy." This nicely animated music video features a different style of animation than in the anime itself. We were extra excited to acquire this video for you.

The Nana DVD box sets are really very special. Everyone on the Nana DVD team loves the manga and anime, and we put our hearts into making the best product possible. We hope that new and existing Nana fans will collect them all.

(Note: The Nana anime is rated M for Mature, as is the Nana manga volumes 8 to present. They are meant for mature audiences ages 18 and up.)

Catch the drama of Nana O., Nana K., Blast, and Trapnest, with more episodes of Nana on Viz Anime, up to episode 47 for your viewing pleasure. With tensions is friendships and relationships, the story heats up. Will it all end with fireworks? Watch Nana to find out.

The Nana anime is rated Mature.

For those of you who haven't bought the Naruto Shippuden DVD box set 1 yet (and hey, there's still time! ;-) We've got copies at the VIZ store), we've got a sneak peek at the contents:

- Jacket art
- DVD surface designs
- Art card
- Mininja

(The last two items come with the special edition.)

Check out our DVD box set page at naruto.com at  for all the details!