VIZ Media announced executive vice president Brad Woods will now be the president/CEO of the company. Former president Ken Sasaki will move into the role of chairman/executive adviser.
VIZ promoted Sasaki to the CEO position in 2012. As chairman, he will continue to play a big role in the company’s future direction. Woods initially joined the company as a marketing officer in 2015. He now fills the role of CEO after ten years with the company. The reason for the shake-up is currently unknown.
Recently, VIZ Media announced that it will release volume 1 of the Kingdom manga in English on November 11. The manga will be available physically and on the Shonen Jump service. Yasuhisa Hara released the manga in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump in 2006. Further, Shueisha published the most recent volume of the series in December 2024.
In regards to the announcement, VIZ Media stated that “the fans have spoken and we heard you; Kingdom has come! VIZ invites readers to join us on Xin’s journey in this epic historical saga.” An anime adaptation of Kingdom is available now on Crunchyroll. Season 5 of the series released in January 2024.
Lastly, Crunchyroll describes the series:
Xin and Piao are war-orphans in the kingdom of Qin. They dream of proving themselves on the battlefield until the day Piao is captured by a minister. The boy manages to escape and return to his village, but he is badly injured. Xin then meets a mysterious youth who bears an eerie resemblance to Piao—a boy who will one day become emperor!
