One of these creators is Naoki Urasawa*. And Viz has just announced that the anime adaption of Urasawa’s acclaimed, psychological drama Monster is now available on iTunes! On top of that, I just noticed that you can currently watch the first episode for FREE on Youtube!! (Until October 26)

Naturally we can’t embed the full episode, but if you want a little mood setting before heading over to Youtube, check the player to the right for the intro.

From the press release:

What would you do if a child you saved grew up to be a monster? An ice-cold killer is on the loose, and Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him! Tenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon with a promising future, risks his career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy named Johan. When the boy, now a coldhearted and charismatic young man, reappears nine years later in the midst of a string of unusual serial murders, Tenma must go on the run from the police who suspect him to be the killer to find Johan and stop the monster he set loose upon the world. Conspiracies, serial murders, and secret government experiments set against the grim backdrop of the formerly communist Eastern Europe are masterfully woven together in this compelling work of suspense.

Click here to read the full release

(*My other all-time favorite manga-ka is Takehiko Inoue.)

The Swag:
* (1) Naruto Uncut Box Set Volume 12 DVD w/limited edition Rock Lee figurine
* (1) Naruto Uncut Box Set Volume 11 DVD
* (1) Naruto: The Broken Bond video game for Xbox 360
* (1) Naruto Ultimate Ninja: Storm video game for PlayStation 3
* (2) one year supplies of Shonen Jump magazine

Two Ways To Win:

1) Sign up on our new message board and post your three favorite Naruto fights (and why) — we’ll choose the best entry, make a video feature out of it, and send the lucky person some of that cool, aforementioned Naruto swag. Remember, Naruto himself doesn’t even have to be one of the combatants!

2) Even if you can’t choose which fights are your favorites, there’s still a chance to earn some swag by signing up for the boards and joining in the conversation! Two lucky posters will be chosen to receive some swag of their very own.

So what are you waiting for? Hit the PCS Community Boards now! Contest Ends Friday, April 24th, 2009!

-or-

Want a chance to win more great Naruto prizes? Head over to Naruto.com, watch the latest Naruto Shippuden episode, and answer a trivia question to enter their weekly Watch & Win contest. Each week will bring a bigger prize, so keep checking back for your chance to win!

http://naruto.viz.com/watchandwin/

Note: If you experience any problems registering or posting on the forums, please contact us and let us know.

They’ve announced that starting with episode 101 of Naruto Shippuden, airing on March 26, 2009 the English subtitled streams will be airing on www.naruto.com on the same day that the episodes air in Japan. PopCultureShock has confirmed with Viz that not only will it be streaming on the same day as release overseas, but that the stream will begin within an hour of the episodes airing in Japan.

Previously, the move was already a bold direction for any anime company to make. What Viz has done is take a hugely successful property, that was being downloaded millions of times per week from fansubbing groups and killed the need or demand for fans to get it from anyone other than them. This allows Viz to cut out the fansubbing groups, which spoils domestic viewers from anticipating, viewing and purchasing the episodes when they’re localized and released here and also monetize it by allowing fans to view it for free but show ads through the stream.

The only question now is not IF, but WHEN other anime license holders will start to do the same.