Shōnen Jump

Shonen Jump, published in North America by Viz Media, debuted in November 2002, with a January 2003 cover date. Though based on Weekly Shōnen Jump, the English language Shonen Jump is retooled for English readers and the American audience and is published monthly, instead of weekly.[6][7] It features serialized chapters from seven manga series, and articles on Japanese language and culture, manga, anime, video games, and figurines. In conjunction with the magazine, Viz launched new imprints for releasing media related to the series presented in the magazine, and other shōnen works. This includes two new manga imprints, an anime DVD imprint, a fiction line for releasing light novels, a label for fan and data books, and a label for the release of art books.

Prior to the magazine's launch, Viz launched an extensive marketing campaign to promote the magazine and help it succeed where other manga anthologies in North America have failed. Shueisha purchased an equity interest in Viz to help fund the venture, and Cartoon Network, Suncoast, and Diamond Distributors became promotional partners in the magazine. The first issue required three printings to meet demand, with over 300,000 copies sold. It was awarded the ICv2 "Comic Product of the Year" award in December 2002, and has continued to enjoy high sales with a monthly circulation of 215,000 in 2008

Weekly Shōnen Jump was launched by Shueisha on July 2, 1968 to compete with the already-successful Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Weekly Shōnen Sunday. The Weekly Shōnen Jump's sister publication was a manga magazine called Shōnen Book, which was originally a male version of the short-lived shōjo manga anthology Shōjo Book. Prior to issue 20, Weekly Shōnen Jump was originally called simply Shōnen Jump as it was originally a semi-weekly magazine. In 1969, Shōnen Book ceased publication[3] at which time Shōnen Jump became a weekly magazine and a new monthly magazine called Bessatsu Shōnen Jump was made to take Shōnen Book's place. This magazine was later rebranded as Monthly Shōnen Jump before eventually being discontinued and replaced by Jump Square.

Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden, released in 1988 for the Family Computer was produced to commemorate the magazine's 20th anniversary. It was followed by a sequel: Famicom Jump II: Saikyō no Shichinin in 1991, also for the Family Computer. At its highest point in the mid 1990s, Weekly Shōnen Jump had a regular circulation of over 6 million. In the last few years, its circulation has been about three million. In 2000, two more games were created for the purpose of commemorating the magazine's anniversaries. A crossover fighting game titled Jump Super Stars was released for the Nintendo DS in 2005. It was followed by Jump Ultimate Stars in 2006.

Weekly Shōnen Jump, in association with parent company Shueisha, holds annual competitions for new or up and coming mangaka to create one-shot stories. The best are put to a panel of judges (including mangaka past and present) where the best are given a special award for the best of these new series. The Tezuka Award, named for manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka, is given for all different styles of stories. The Akatsuka Award, named for gag manga pioneer Fujio Akatsuka, is a similar competition for comedy and gag manga. Many Weekly Shōnen Jump mangaka have gotten their start either winning or being acknowledged by these competitions.

Weekly Shōnen Jump is also the center of the Shueisha's branding of its main manga products due to the popularity and recognition of the series and characters published in it. Although the manga are published both in the main magazine as well as in the Jump Comics line, they also are republished in various other editions such as kazenban and "Remixes" of the original work, usually publishing series older or previously established series. The Jump brand is also used on the tankōbon released of their manga series, related drama CDs, and at "Jump Festa", a festival showing off the people and products behind the Weekly Shōnen Jump manga titles.

Shōnen Jump Bleach

Bleach is the second title from the famous Tite Kubo. Mr. Kubo made his debut with Zombie Powder, a four-volume series for Weekly Shonen Jump. The main character of Bleach is Ichigo Kurosaki, he has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn't change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family, but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits, and along with Rukia, who is slowly regaining her powers, it's Ichigo's job to both protect the innocent from Hollows and to help the spirits themselves find peace.

Bleach has been continuously serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001 and has been collected in 40 volumes as of June 2009. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise. The manga has been adapted into an animated television series produced by Studio Pierrot which is still ongoing in Japan as it adapts the story from the manga. The series has also spawned two original video animations (OVAs), three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as prompted the release of many types of Bleach-related merchandise.

Viz Media licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada and has released 26 Bleach Manga volumes as of April 2009. In addition, it has been publishing the chapters in Shonen Jump since November 2007. On March 15, 2006, Viz obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006 in the United States. The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz on October 14, 2008.

Compilation volumes of the Bleach manga have sold over 50 million copies in Japan and reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received, rating as the 7th most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and in the top ten anime for America from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and America.

Shōnen Jump Naruto

Created by the famous Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto is a story of a village where ninjas reign supreme, and school is literally a battlefield. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are teenage classmates and ninja-in-training which they try to work towards the same goal to become the greatest ninja in the land.

The Naruto manga was first published by Shueisha in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Currently, the Naruto manga is still being serialized with forty-seven volumes released so far. The manga was later adapted into an anime, which was produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. It premiered across Japan on the TV Tokyo network and the anime satellite television network Animax on October 3, 2002. The first series lasted 220 episodes, while Naruto: Shippuden, a sequel to the original series, has been airing since February 15, 2007. In addition to the anime series, Studio Pierrot has developed five movies for the Naruto series and several original video animations (OVAs). Other types of merchandise include light novels, video games and trading cards developed by several companies.

Viz Media has licensed the Naruto manga and Naruto anime for North American production. Viz has been publishing the series in their Shonen Jump magazine, and as well as the indidividual volumes. The Naruto anime series began airing in the United States and Canada in 2005, and later in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The films, as well as most OVAs from the Naruto series, have also been released by Viz, with the first film premiering in cinemas. The first DVD volume of Naruto: Shippuden is set to be released by Viz in North America on September 29, 2009.

Serialized in Viz's Shonen Jump magazine, Naruto has become one of the company's best-selling manga series. The manga has sold over 71 million copies in Japan. The English adaptation of the series has also appeared in the USA Today Booklist several times and volume 11 won the Quil Award in 2006. Reviewers from the series have praised the balance between fighting and comedy scenes, as well as the characters' personalities. However, some of them have noted the series to have concepts which appear in several other shonen series.