Yoshitaka Amano, known by international fans as the artist behind the legendary Final Fantasy video game series, is celebrating his 70th birthday with a unique art project from November 23 until December 8 at Myoshin-ji in Kyoto. 

On the first day of the event, the venue, decorated with autumn leaves, was crowded with visitors including foreign tourists, who marveled at the fantastic space filled harmoniously with gold and blue. The exhibition will be held at Myoshin-ji, the head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. This collection of works was designed to question visitors’ sensibilities and provide a new kind of art exhibition for fans to enjoy.

After the exhibition, the main art piece by Yoshitaka himself will be converted to 3DCG, and a Virtual Golden World will be developed in collaboration with the Yoshitaka Amano VR Museum. By integrating traditional and modern art methods, guests will be able to engage more deeply in the art by enjoying digital works, the metaverse, and NFTs.

Don’t miss this curious exhibition!

Yoshitaka Amano, known by international fans as the artist behind the legendary Final Fantasy video game series, is celebrating his 70th birthday with a unique art project in Kyoto. 

The exhibition will be held at Myoshin-ji, the head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. Stepping into the temple, guests will be met with colorful autumn leaves and a sea of gold and blue art pieces.

“I want people to enter this world of light and experience being part of it,” Amano said. “Rather than art being something flat on a wall, I want to present something new and unique.” This collection of works was designed to question visitors’ sensibilities and provide a new kind of art exhibition for fans to enjoy.

The main art piece, newly painted by Amano himself, will be on display in the Dharma Hall, which was decorated by one of Kano Tan’yu’s masterpieces. Tan’yu was an Edo-period painter. 

The three meter tall column features Amano’s own interpretation of Hiten, part of Mount Meru, a part of Buddhism cosmology considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes. Four smaller pieces will be displayed on all four sides to create a three-dimensional mandala. 

Known for his work on the Final Fantasy series, Yoshitaka Amano is one of the most beloved artists in Japanese popular culture. From November 5 until November 30, an exhibition displaying many of his works is open at the Kikka Gallery in Omotesando, Tokyo. Online lottery sales of many Amano works shown in the exhibition began on November 20. 

While overseas fans know him best for Final Fantasy, Amano is also the creator of many iconic characters such as Gatchaman, Tekkaman, and Casshan. 

The PREMONITION OF HAPPINESS exhibition boasts 111 paintings and 3D works on display, all of which are one-of-a-kind. A number of colorful works drawn on traditional Japanese paper and bamboo plates are also attracting guests, based on his fine artwork CANDY GIRL, which he has been working on since 2015. 

Fender, the iconic American instrument maker, is celebrating their 75th anniversary by holding a special collaboration with Square Enix’s MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. This includes the release of the all-new FINAL FANTASY XIV Stratocaster®. Pre-orders for the guitar will open first in Japan on May 25 and subsequently the Americas, EMEA and Australia in late 2021 with shipping scheduled for early 2022.

The Stratocaster is all-black with translucent sections of blue and purple to represent the Crystals of Light and Darkness in the game. It features a maple neck with a slim Modern C shape and a 12-fret fingerboard which has a meteor inlaid in the 12th fret. As well as the FFXIV logo, each guitar has the edition number printed on it to give it that premium feel.

The guitar is also equipped with the Fender V-Mod Strat Single-Coil Strat which features a Limit Break inspired by the ultimate moves seen in the Final Fantasy series’ combat. Pressing it allows the player to. Using this enables the bridge and middle pickups in series for a heaviersound.

The guitar also comes with a hardshell case featuring the Fender and FFXIV logos.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Stratocaster® | $3,499.99 / £3,199 / €3,499 / $6,499 AUD / ¥396,000 JPY

The FINAL FANTASY XIV Stratocaster will also be playable inside the world of FFXIV in accordance with an update to the game’s Performance Mode arriving in Patch 5.55 which is set to release on May 25. The in-game electric guitar will enable players to switch between clean and distorted tones, and they can also enjoy special performance features for the guitar including pick slide and mute effects.

Enjoy the FINAL FANTASY XIV Stratocaster in real life and in-game!

To celebrate the launch of FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE, Tokyo Skytree launched an event titled “SKYTREE® in MIDGAR FINAL FANTASY Ⅶ REMAKE.” However, due to the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the event and tower had to close on March 1, 2020.

But Tokyo Skytree still wants people to enjoy the event in some way, and so they have decided on something super special that is sure to please fans. Originally, there was an original FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE video created exclusively for Tokyo Skytree which was being shown up in the tower’s TEMBO DECK, 350 meters in the air. It’s called FINAL FANTASY VII PREMIUM ROUND THEATER, and you can now watch it over on Tokyo Skytree’s official YouTube channel. It’s available to watch until June 1, 2020 at 11:00 (JST).

Have you played FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE yet? Be sure to check out this exclusive content before you have to travel to Tokyo to see it!

© 1997, 2020 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.
CHARACTER DESIGN: TETSUYA NOMURA/ROBERTO FERRARI
LOGO ILLUSTRATION: © 1997 YOSHITAKA AMANO
©TOKYO-SKYTREE

In the hugely popular MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, players are able to participate in a marriage system called the Ceremony of Eternal Bonding in which they can get married in game. But Square Enix are about to take it to the next level as they team up with Bridal Heart to offer real-life, official FFXIV-themed weddings.

Registrations for the wedding plan opened on May 22 in which people can look forward to professional wedding photography, gourmet cuisine, decorations and much more.

A giant 4K screen will project immersive visuals of the gorgeous world of XIV, sounds and music will play to make it feel like you are in the game, a performance LED lights will be carried out by guests. The venue it is held at has been completely redeveloped and redesigned for the purpose of Final Fantasy XIV weddings.

The banquet table will be adorned with an original wedding cake and Eternal Chocobo, music will chime, and there will be weapons carefully and elaborately recreated from the game. The immersive atmosphere is sure to make your wedding an emotional and memorable one.

Of course, we mustn’t forget the gourmet menu line-up which is a mix of both Japanese and Western-style cuisine. It includes a full course as well as drinks, cakes, and more.

This is the kind of wedding any fan of Final Fantasy XIV is going to want to have.

An exhibition opened in Ikebukuro Sunshine City on August 10 which is celebrating Yoshitaka Amano’s famous and instantly recognizable works on the Final Fantasy series. A special opening ceremony and private viewing was also held on August 9.

Yoshitaka Amano was present at the ceremony. “There are works more than 30 years old that are even nostalgic to me. My techniques have changed over the course of my 50+ year career, but what I express hasn’t. It’s not often I get the chance to showcase the original pieces, so please enjoy.” he commented.

There are close to 150 illustrations at the exhibition drawn by Amano for Final Fantasy as well as new pieces that are being shown for the first time for a total of around 200 works. The ‘Fantasy Corridor’ is one to look out for, an interactive piece that combines fantasy with technology. His works appear one after the other in a space with lights fluttering about. People are also invited to experience the colourful world of Amano with his latest work Candy Girl.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to get up close to original drawings from the Final Fantasy series.

Each year, Universal Studios Japan’s “Universal Cool Japan” sparks a universal craze – now Universal Studios Japan will be launching this event once again!

This will be the fourth year of “Universal Cool Japan”. For this event, the most popular manga, anime, games and brands from all over the world are specially selected and packed into one venue. To turn up the hype for fans even more, 2018 will be the year of history’s best “Cool Japan” event!

“Universal Cool Japan” allows Japan to boast to the rest of the world about her cool entertainment brands. Each year, “Universal Cool Japan”  makes the most out of Japan’s creativity in order to deliver fans something they will only ever experience at the park! The overwhelming scale of this event and its high quality is something you can only experience here.

“Case Closed” (Detective Conan) and “Monster Hunter” have already made an appearance at Cool Japan in the past. In response to their popularity, they will featured again in 2018, but this time with an upgrade! “Sailor Moon” and “Final Fantasy” are just two examples of the new members of the Cool Japan team – there’s so much that’s going to make this the best Cool Japan in history.

Universal Cool Japan 2018 – The best lineup in history!
【Part 1】19^th January 2018 （Friday）～ 24^th June 2018（Sunday）

① Final Fantasy

Worldwide popularity fell into the hands of the Final Fantasy series for its cutting-edge graphics, unique outlook onto the world, and thrilling storyline. The series made the Guinness world record for the “most prolific role-playing game series”, representing Japan as a forerunner in role-playing games . The series will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

② Case Closed (Detective Conan)

In the year 2017, manga artist Gosho Aoyama single handedly sold over 2 million copies of his manga worldwide. The movie that was released in spring this year sparkled as the top movie of the first half of 2017. Its popularity stretches to over 20 countries worldwide.

③ Monster Hunter

Since the launch of the “Monster Hunter” series, the hunting action game has become popular all over the world, earning the reputation as a “monster phenomenon” and as a sensational game for adults. “Monster Hunter: World” is an upcoming game which will be launched at the beginning of 2018. Fans cannot contain their excitement as they wait.

【Part 2】Limited edition event from spring 2018

④ Sailor Moon
The monthly magazine “Nakayoshi” will feature the manga artist of Naoko Takeuchi as she commemorates the 25th anniversary of her manga Sailor Moon. As well as an animation series that has been a sensation in more than 40 countries, a manga series, musicals and numerous collaborations, the fame just keeps on coming!

Further information on the atractions and opening days will be released on a later date. For now, all we can do is wait for more updates!