Viz Releases First Japanese Sci Fi Titles

Viz Media has long been known as the premiere publisher of Manga in the United States. This July, they’re moving into new territory with Haikasoru, the first imprint in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.

Haikasoru launches with two titles,  The Lord of the Sands of Time, a time travel adventure that begins in ancient Japan and moves to the 26th Century, and All You Need is Kill which has been called “science fiction for the adrenaline junkie.”

“SF, manga and anime fans will definitely enjoy these debut titles from Haikasoru,” says Masumi Washington, Editor-in-Chief of Haikasoru at VIZ Media. “These novels present science fiction that is engaging, imaginative and exotic and we’re very excited to offer a whole new genre of Japanese literature to readers in the U.S.”

Haikasoru is scheduled to publish twelve books a year with four books coming out this summer.  For more information look behind the cut then visit www.haikasoru.com.

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL by Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Cover illustration by Yoshitoshi Abe
Price: $13.99 U.S. / CAN $16.00
When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his 158th iteration, he finally sees something different, something out of place—a female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji’s escape or his final death?

THE LORD OF THE SANDS OF TIME by Issui Ogawa
Cover illustration by Bukichi Nadeara
Price: $13.99 U.S. / CAN $16.00
Sixty-two years after human life on earth was annihilated by rampaging aliens, the enigmatic cyborg Messenger O is sent back in time with the mission to unite the humanity of past eras—during World War II and in ancient Japan, even back at the dawn of humanity—in order to defeat the alien invasion before it begins. But amidst a future shredded by war, love also waits for O. Will O save humanity only to doom himself? THE LORD OF THE SANDS OF TIME was nominated for the prestigious Seiun Award, the leading award for Japanese science fiction, the winners of which are selected each year by members of the Japanese National Science Fiction Convention.

Cover Art Courtesy of Viz Media