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Viz Media Licences Downfall, Prince Freya, Blue Flag, 'Love Me, Love Me Not' Manga

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Viz Media announced new manga licenses and releases at its Anime Expo panel on Thursday. All of the titles are slated for release in 2020.

Title: Downfall (Reiraku)
Creator: Inio Asano
Release: Winter 2020
Summary: The latest title from the Eisner-nominated, bestselling author of Goodnight Punpun. In this realistic view into the manga industry, selling copies is the only thing that matters. So what if your first series just ended and you have no idea how to start the next one, your marriage is breaking up, your pure love of manga has been destroyed by the cruel reality of the industry and nothing seems to fill the sucking void inside you… Find the secret combo for a new hit manga series and everything will be okay. Right?

Title: Prince Freya (Itsuwari no Freya)
Creator: Keiko Ishihara
Release: Winter 2020
Summary: The powerful kingdom of Sigurd has slowly been conquering all the lands that share its borders, and now it has turned its voracious attention to the small, resource-rich kingdom of Tyr. Tyr cannot hope to match Sigurd in strength, so in order to survive it must rely on the intelligence, skill, and cunning of its prince and his loyal knights. But when the prince is poisoned, a young village maiden named Freya, who bears a shocking resemblance to the fallen prince, must step into his place to save them all.

Title: Pokémon Adventures Collector's Edition (Pocket Monsters Special)
Creators: Hidenori Kusaka (story), Mato (art), Satoshi Yamamoto (art)
Summary: When Pokémon Trainer Red encounters a challenger he can't fight alone, he must overcome his rivalries and join up with Blue, his former nemesis, and Green, a thief. Together, this unlikely trio and their Pokémon will need to learn the power of teamwork if they're going to defeat their mutual enemy!

Title: Kirby: Art and Style Collection
Release: Spring 2020
Summary: A stylish new hardcover book featuring the history of Kirby, the hero of the best-selling video games. Includes 25 years' worth of sketches, artwork, Japanese video game box art, and merchandise, as well as exclusive notes from creators and artists who've brought Kirby to life throughout the years.

Title: The Art of Junji Ito: Twisted Visions (seen right)
Release: Spring 2020

Title: Love Me, Love Me Not (Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare)
Creator: Io Sakisaka
Release: Spring 2020

Title: Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku
Creator: Yūji Kaku
Release: Spring 2020

Title: Blue Flag (Ao no Flag)
Creator: KAITO
Release: Spring 2020

Title: Transformers: The Manga
Creators: Masumi Kaneda (story), Ban Magami (art)
Release: Winter 2020

Viz also revealed that it will release the second season of the Castlevania animated series this fall. The company also offered the first preview Seis Manos, its first original animated property.

Sources: Email correspondence