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Doraemon's Fujiko Fujio A, Viz VP Ferreyra Interviewed

The Yomiuri Shimbun paper posted an interview with manga artist Fujiko Fujio A, the co-creator of Doraemon with Fujiko F. Fujio. Besides Doraemon, Fujiko Fujio A is credited for Ninja Hattori-kun and other works after the team split up to do solo work. In the interview, Fujiko and manga creator and critic Jun Ishikawa discussed the launches of Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine in 1959 and how manga has changed since then, the increasing popularity of reading manga on cell phones and online, and the enduring popularity of manga even as sales of magazines and volumes have been declining.

ICv2 also posted an interview on Thursday with Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Viz Media. In the interview, Ferreyra noted that 2009 was a tough market for the anime and manga industry, but Viz is encouraged because of its popular titles and what Yen Press' release of the Twilight manga in March might be able to do for the industry. Ferreyra said that he is also excited about Viz's official anime streaming site that is currently in beta and will officially launch in the next month or so.

Ferreya said that Viz is working on getting manga accessible on cell phones in the U.S., but he said he regrets it is not able to move forward more quickly. Ferreya said Viz also hopes to venture into the area of publishing original material in the U.S. soon, as well as releasing Blu-ray Discs, but due to problems, including reverse importation, discussions are still in the beginning stages, and Ferreyra said it is "not likely" that Viz will release any Blu-ray Discs in 2010.

Source: Yomiuri Daily Online via AICN Anime's Twitter, ICv2 (link 2, link 3)