It’s manga time! While it’s sad that Tokyopop will be gone soon, VIZ Media is still around and doing better than ever. In fact, it’s even found a way to expand its readership! If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can now get a free VIZ Manga app from iTunes. Once the program is on your iOS device, you can load it up with digital manga and read comics anywhere you want, without having to worry about carrying around actual books….

Nana didn’t start out as a worldwide phenomenon. It began simply, as a series running in the manga magazine Cookie. But there was something about the series, which focuses on the friendship between two girls with the same name and what happens when they meet in Tokyo chasing their dreams, that resonated with readers. The characters, the relationships, the interactions and the art connected with people and become something special.

The first volume of Nana is really divided into two segments. The first segment looks at Nana Komatsu, a middle child in a happy family who has had a number of failed romances. The most recent of said romances was with a married man, and ends just before her high school graduation. She’s obsessed with the idea of a fantastical demon lord that brings bad luck and punishment, just starting art school and not looking for love. Instead, she wants to recover from her former ways and make her first male friends instead…

Title: Bleach Uncut Season 2: The Entry box setPrice: $39.99 (Amazon) – $80.99 (Barnes & Noble)Format: DVDRelease Date: August 19, 2008Company: Viz MediaESRB Rating: UnratedPros: Episodes 21-41 uncut, English and Japanese voice tracks, English subtitles, production art, mini-poster, Ichigo stickerCons: Only basic extra featuresOverall Score: Two thumbs up, 90/100, A-, **** 1/2 out of 5.

The second season of Bleach is arguably one of the best in the run of the series. While the first season,”The Substitute,” sets up the story for viewers and acts as an origin tale for the hero that is Ichigo Kurosaki, the second season, “The Entry,” gives viewers the opportunity to see what Ichigo is capable of and up against.

The best way to experience this, to understand the mechanics of the Soul Society and Soul Reapers, is to watch the uncut DVD box set in Japanese with English subtitles. Even though Viz Media has cast capable voice actors to give life to all of the characters, the introduction and personalities of the various Soul Reaper captains and vice captains are better captured by the original Japanese voice actors. Since Viz Media has also done a great job with translating for the subtitles, the DVD set is a joy to watch either way…

Konami and Viz Media have announced that the Blue Dragon Role Playing Card Game will be at Gen Con Indy, which fruns from August 14-17, 2008. Blue Dragon RPCG, as it is affectionately known, is a trading card game based on the Xbox 360 game Blue Dragon.

The Konami booth will have the game displayed and Konami representatives will be teaching people to play Blue Dragon RPCG and giving out free t-shirts and half decks. There will also be Blue Dragon RPCG tournaments on August 16 and 17, and a game mat and half-deck are in every Gen Con Indy attendee’s show bag. So make sure you stop by the Konami booth so you can play with a full deck.

Viz Media has a special gift for everyone who wasn’t able to attend Comic Con this year in San Francisco – a free episode of Death Note. Members of Viz newsletters received an email today (July 26, 2008) offering an iTunes code for “Rebirth,” the first episode of Death Note. The episode is a 236.1 MB download, and the code is good until December 31, 2008.

Death Note is the story of Light Yagami, a high schooler who comes across a death god’s notebook. Inside are specific instructions, but there’s one fact – if someone’s name is written in that notebook, that person will die. Light decides that he is going to use it to rid the world of despicable criminals. However, power can corrupt, and the super detective L and the police force are after the mysterious Kira who is wiping out criminals.

Shonen Jump is going to be 40 years old soon, and Shonen Jump magazine is going to be five years old as well. So Viz media is going to use this as an opportunity to celebrate some of the most popular series. There will be a special edition issue of Shonen Jump, a contest to attend Japan’s Jump Festa anime convention and hardcover, collector’s editions of the first volumes of six popular series.

The highlight will be the special, hardcover edition of the August 2008 edition of Shonen Jump. For $24.99, fans will get a hardcover version of the magazine that has all the manga chapters that appeared in the very first and second issues Shonen Jump in December 2002. It will also have interviews with manga authors, a special Yu-Gi-Oh card and a poster to collect character stickers that will be found in volumes of Bleach, Death Note, Naruto and Slam Dunk.

Title: Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 (aka Shonen Jump: Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress)Price: $39.99System(s): PSPRelease Date: June 24, 2008Publisher (Developer): Namco Bandai Games (CyberConnect2)ESRB Rating: “Teen” for cartoon violence, crude humor, mild suggestive themes and simulated gambling.Pros: Fast action, good animations, a couple fun minigame, easy to use fight controls make this fairly addictive. Wireless game sharing for multiplayer battles using one UMD.Cons: Too few minigames that become highly repetitive and limited character building.Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 80/100; B-; * * * out of five.

Except for the choose-your-own-type rooms, three additional characters (Third Hokage, Shizune, and Kabuto Yakushi) and equipping characters with items before each Battle, this is essentially the same as the first Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes PSP game. While neither a technical masterpiece nor a unique game, Ninja Heroes 2 is surprisingly addictive.

Click through for the full review…

First video game manga fans were able to read Devil May Cry and Kingdom Hearts thanks to Tokyopop, and now Viz Media has stepped up to the plate to bring Zelda manga to the masses. Viz announced on April 10, 2008 that it will be translating and publishing the manga series The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The two volume series was originally written by Akira Himekawa, the pen name for Honda A and Nagano S’s two woman partnership, and released as Zelda no Densetsu: Toki no Ocarina. The first volume will be released in October, 2008 and each volume will cost $7.99.