Viz Media has recently updated their website to remove both the Shaman King and Ultimo manga series. Back in October 2017, Viz had removed the ability to purchase digital copies of both manga series. At that time, they still had web-pages for both series and provided links to purchase the physical volumes. With the removal from the website, the series is no longer licensed for English distribution by Viz Media and the volumes are now considered out-of-print. When both series were licensed, Shueisha was the Japanese publisher, who is a co-owner of Viz Media.
Viz Media previously had English-language direct distribution rights in United States of America (and related territories), Canada, and the United Kingdom for both Shaman King and Ultimo. The Shaman King manga first released in English in the American version of “Shonen Jump” Issue #3 in 2003. Viz Media was also a key contributor to the Karakuridōji Ultimo manga series, and help promote the series in the USA at both New York Comic Con (NYCC) and San Diego’s Comic-Con International (SDCC). Both of these events doubled as in-person planning meetings between co-creators Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei.
Kodansha Comics is currently the global English-language licencor for Hiroyuki Takei’s Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai manga. With the Japanese license transfer from Shueisha to Kodansha over the last year, all of the current-standing licenses for the manga series were disrupted and it was unclear if they were to continue. Kodansha Comics and Vertical, two English-language publishers, stated that they were looking into the licensing availability of the Shaman King series earlier this year. No new English-language licencor has been officially announced, nor has Shaman King be licensed to any other country since the Kodansha change-over.
For a complete list of the license status of Hiroyuki Takei’s mangas around the world, check out our helpful guide found here.
