VIZ Adds Uncensored Tenjho Tenge, Plus 4 New Manga for 2011

Several months after the end of CMX Manga in June 2010, fans now know the fate of Tenjho Tenge, the ultra-violent, fanservice-filled manga series by Oh! Great (the creator of Air Gear). VIZ Media announced on Monday that they picked up the license for this controversial shonen manga series and will be publishing this 22-volume series as 11 double-sized volumes starting in June 2011.

VIZ also announced four additional titles for 2011, which pretty much had something to offer (almost) everyone. For shonen manga fans, there's Blue Exorcist and Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. For fans of more arty / adult fare, there's La Quinta Camera by Natsume Ono. And for shojo manga readers, there's a luxe hardcover edition of The Art of Vampire Knight. Here's a closer look at these new additions.

• Tenjho Tenge by Oh! Great - June 21, 2011
  From VIZ Media's description:
  "Knuckle-busting brawls, badass babes, and the toughest student body ever to mix it up under one roof. Welcome to Todo High, where the only rule is: get strong or get schooled. Soichiro Nagi and Bob Makihara have always been the meanest street brawlers around. When they enter Todo High they plan on carving out a reputation as the strongest fighters in their new school--easier said than done in a place that's dedicated to training its students in the art of combat!"

  Tenjho Tenge (Heaven and Earth) was originally released in English by CMX Manga, who earned the ire of fans when they opted to censor some of its more salacious and violent content to earn it an "OT-Older Teen" rating, presumably to make it available to more readers. (Note the strategic placement of the "Tenjho Tenge" logo on the cover art of the  CMX Manga edition of Volume 1).

  The backlash from fans was vehement and seemingly unrelenting, as CMX editors endured numerous sarcastic or angry demands to the tune of  "When are you going to release Ten-Ten uncensored?" during Q&A sessions at their anime convention panels for years. In the end, CMX only released 18 out of 22 volumes of the series before they closed up shop in June 2010.

  More recently, Michael Gombos, Dark Horse's head of Asian Licensing revealed in an Anime News Network ANNCast podcast in mid-October that Dark Horse's bid to get the license for Ten-Ten was unsuccessful. Given that Tenjho Tenge was originally published in Ultra Jump, a Shueisha magazine and that VIZ is jointly owned by Shueisha and Shogakukan, VIZ seemed like the most likely candidate to pick up this title.

  In response to fans' demands, VIZ Media will be releasing these new editions of Tenjho Tenge with new translations, and "now 100% faithful to the original in 2-in-1 editions featuring 16 pages of full-color art!" Look for the first volume of this new "M-Mature" rated edition to hit the stores in June, with a price tag of $17.99 (US).

• Blue Exorcist (Ao no Futsumashi) by Kazue Kato - April 5, 2011
  From VIZ Media's description:
  "Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. One day a fateful argument with Father Fujimoto forces Rin to face a terrible truth--the blood of the demon lord Satan runs in Rin's veins! Rin swears to defeat Satan, but doing that means entering the mysterious True Cross Academy and becoming an exorcist himself. Can Rin fight demons and keep his infernal bloodline a secret? It won't be easy, especially when drawing his father's sword releases the demonic power within him!"

  Originally serialized in Jump SQ magazine, Blue Exorcist is an ongoing series that currently has four volumes released in Japan. Given that VIZ is already jumping headlong into publishing Ten-Ten, putting out a shonen manga series for older teens where the hero is the son of Satan should be a walk in the park.

• La Quinta Camera ("The Fifth Bedroom") by Natsume Ono - July 19, 2011
  From VIZ Media's description:
  "A charming suite of linked stories from the acclaimed author of not simple and House of Five Leaves, set in an apartment in Italy. In four of the rooms live four single men with singular personalities. Into this peculiar ménage steps an exchange student, the new tenant of the fifth room. Brought together by chance, friends by choice, they pursue their dreams together as the days drift gently by."

  With the release of not simple, Ristorante Paradiso, Gente and House of Five Leaves in 2010, VIZ Media continues their love affair with the work of Natsume Ono with this one-shot collection of short stories from an early stage in her comics creation career.

• The Art of Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino - September 6, 2011
  Matsuri Hino's lush and detailed illustrations from fan-fave supernatural shojo manga series Vampire Knight will be showcased in a deluxe hardcover edition filled with full-color illustrations, commentary from Hino-sensei, a how-to-draw tutorial and a full-sized pull-out poster. At $24.99, this collectible art book is sure to be a must-have for fans of this bestselling vampire romance.

• Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Nurarihyon no Mago) by Hiroshi Shiibashi - February 1, 2011
  From VIZ Media's description:
  "While the day belongs to humans, the night belongs to yokai, supernatural creatures that thrive on human fear. Caught between these worlds is Rikuo Nura. He's three-quarters human, but his grandfather is none other than Nurarihyon, the supreme commander of the Nura clan, a powerful yokai consortium. So, Rikuo is an ordinary teenager three quarters of the time, until his yokai blood awakens. Then Rikuo transforms into the future leader of the Nura clan, leading a hundred demons."

  The anime version of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan made its debut on VIZ Anime back in July 2010 and the online serialization of the manga version of Nura was announced as part of the Shonen Jump Magazine revamp that will debut with the January 2011 issue. Now VIZ has made it official by announcing the February release date for the print edition of the graphic novel.

Now that you know more about these upcoming VIZ Media manga releases for 2011, which one are you most eager to read? What do you think about VIZ's new edition of Tenjho Tenge? Add your comments below!

Image credits: © Oh! Great / SHUEISHA INC., © Kazue Kato / SHUEISHA INC., © Natsume Ono / SHOGAKUKAN, NURARIHYON NO MAGO (C) 2008 by Hiroshi Shiibashi/SHUEISHA Inc.