Viz Makes Blue Dragon Available On iTunes

Source: MediaLab

VIZ Media has announced today the availability of its popular animated series BLUE DRAGON on the iTunes® Store (www.iTunes.com) in US and Canada. As a special launch promotion, the first episode of BLUE DRAGON will be available for download for free on the iTunes Store until March 10th and can be found at www.itunes.com/tv/bluedragon.

BLUE DRAGON animated series, based on the popular Xbox 360 role playing game (RPG), is a classic adventure story of magical Shadow powers, flying air fortresses, and unbounded heroism! Brought together by fate, Seven Soldiers of Light must awaken the Shadow within themselves in time to overcome a despotic power and bring peace to their land. Their ensuing journey through a rich fantasy world is also an internal journey to awaken the great power within each of them. Journey with them into the world of BLUE DRAGON!

The Xbox 360 game “BLUE DRAGON” was developed by Hironobu Sakaguchi (the creator of Final Fantasy). The game and animated series feature memorable characters designed by Akira Toriyama, the creator of the best-selling DRAGON BALL series of manga (also published in North America by VIZ Media and featured in SHONEN JUMP Magazine). The animated series debuted in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 7, 2007 and is produced by Studio Pierrot, which is well known for its work on NARUTO and BLEACH, also licensed by VIZ Media and available on iTunes.

"We are excited to add the beloved BLUE DRAGON animation to the growing library of VIZ Media titles now available on the iTunes store.” says Ken Sasaki, Sr. Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, VIZ Media. “VIZ Media is committed to giving fans the best in animated entertainment and we are thrilled to provide the best options in delivering exciting animated content in a high quality digital way.”

For more information on BLUE DRAGON please visit the dedicated website at Bluedragon.viz.com, which currently features anime series trailers, character descriptions, artwork from the animation, and a news section that will be updated regularly with announcements regarding the anime series.

See Also: Viz Showcases New Anime At The Licensing International Expo / Blue Dragon Finds A Home On Cartoon Network / Viz Media To Unleash A Unique Variety Of Anime Titles At NATPE

Exclusive Watchman Footage Available On iTunes

Source: Warner Bros

Who is Watching the Watchmen? Beginning today, iTunes customers can watch special "Watchmen" features exclusively available as free downloads on the iTunes Store.

Available starting today on iTunes and the Apple App Store at www.itunes.com/watchmenmovie are: an exclusive "Watchmen" film sequence, previously only shown at San Diego's Comic-Con Convention; the Essential Watchmen app for iPhone and iPod touch; multiple behind-the-scenes video journal podcasts; film clips; trailers; and other features exploring the creation of one of the most anticipated films of 2009.

Additionally, original Motion Comic Episodes are available on iTunes for individual download or through a season pass. Warner Premiere's Motion Comics are a new way for comic fans to connect with their favorite characters and the stories they know and love through short-form digital content. They draw on a deep reservoir of source material to bring a new visually engaging experience to life through the use of subtle movements, voice-overs, sweeping music scores and stunning comic book artwork.

New and exclusive content will be continually added to the iTunes store through the release of the film.

"Watchmen" opens nationwide on March 6, 2009.

A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, "Watchmen" is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity...but who is watching the Watchmen?

"Watchmen" is directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay is by David Hayter and Alex Tse, based upon the graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC Comics. Herbert W. Gains and Thomas Tull are the executive producers, with Wes Coller serving as co-producer.

The film stars Malin Akerman as Laurie Juspeczyk, aka Silk Spectre II; Billy Crudup as Jon Osterman, aka Dr. Manhattan; Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias; Carla Gugino as Sally Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre; Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach; Stephen McHattie as Hollis Mason, aka Nite Owl; Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Edward Blake, aka the Comedian; and Patrick Wilson as Dan Dreiberg, aka Nite Owl II.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures present, in Association with Legendary Pictures, a Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin Production, a Zack Snyder Film, "Watchmen" based on the award-winning graphic novel. "Watchmen" will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures and internationally by Paramount Pictures. Watchmen has been rated R by the MPAA for strong graphic violence, sexual content, nudity and language.

See Also: Wizard Magazine Announces Their Best Of 2008 Winners / Warner Bros - Comic Con Preview - Watchmen And More! / Warner Bros - Comic Con 2008 Sneak Previews