ACF 1073: VIZ releasing new YU-GI-OH! 5DS manga series on July 5th, 2011

YU-GI-OH! 5D’s © 2009 by Masahiro Hikokubo,
Masashi Sato/SHUEISHA Inc.
© K. Takahashi
© NAS・TV TOKYO

VIZ MEDIA TO PREMIERE THE TENSE HIGH-SPEED ACTION
OF NEW YU-GI-OH! 5D’S MANGA SERIES

High Stakes, High Drama And High Speed Turbo Duels Await Readers
In The Latest Saga Of Classic Fantasy Action Franchise

VIZ Media will release the next exciting chapter of the venerable YU-GI-OH! franchise as the company launches the brand new YU-GI-OH! 5D’S manga (graphic novel) series on July 5th.

The new series, written by Masahiro Hikokubo with artwork created by Masashi Sato, will be published under the company’s popular Shonen Jump imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. First editions of the premiere volume will also include a special YU-GI-OH! Dark Highlander collectible trading card.

In New Domino City, the hottest game in town is the Turbo Duel, fought from blazingly fast motorcycles called Duel Runners. On the outskirts of New Domino City, in a district known as Satellite, a new Turbo Duel hero emerges – Yusei Fudo! On his custom-built Duel Runner, Yusei takes on all challengers, fighting for his friends and the future of Satellite! In the opening volume of the new YU-GI-OH! 5D’S series, a high-speed Turbo Duel through the streets of Satellite brings Yusei Fudo and his friend Sect face-to-face with an urban legend incarnate! Will Yusei lose Sect to the Skeleton Knight? And what sinister plans does Jack Atlas, master of New Domino City, have in store for Yusei?

“High stakes, high drama and tense high-speed action await readers in the new YU-GI-OH! 5D’S manga adventure,” says Mike Montesa, Editor. “In YU-GI-OH! 5D’S, the classic card game of dueling monsters has evolved to now include ‘turbo duels’ waged in giant stadiums on fantastic racing motorcycles outfitted with built-in magical dueling equipment. Existing YU-GI-OH! fans won’t want to miss the launch of this exciting new series, which is also an ideal entry point for readers that are new to the YU-GI-OH! world. We can’t wait for the series launch this July!”

Masahiro Hikokubo is a writer with extensive experience on several notable YU-GI-OH! animated series, having worked on the original YU-GI-OH! anime series as a duel designer before going on to write scripts for YU-GI-OH! GX, YU-GI-OH! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, as well as the latest YU-GI-OH! 5D'S.

Masashi Sato debuted as a manga artist in Akamaru Jump in the summer of 2004 with the short story, Mikakushi Tsumuji. He was also named a semi-finalist for the 64th Tezuka Award for his work, Guhou Daichi. After working as an assistant to the YU-GI-OH! manga creative team, Sato became the lead artist on YU-GI-OH! 5D’S.