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!

From December 10, 2022 until January 22, 2023, a special Tokyo Revengers Fair will take place at Animate locations nationwide and online to celebrate the return of the anime series for the Christmas Showdown Arc!

The series tells the story of freelancer Takemichi Hanagaki, who finds out that his only girlfriend has been killed by the ruthless Tokyo Manji Gang. Going back in time 12 years, he decides to save his girlfriend and become a better version of himself. The first season of the anime series ran from April to September of last year and was based on Ken Wakui’s manga series, which concluded on November 16. The anime will return in January 2023 for its second season.

During the event, fans can snag a special bromide (8 varieties) for every ¥1,100 spent (including tax) on Tokyo Revengers goods. These bromides will feature new illustrations of Mikey, Draken, Inupi, Koko, and other popular characters in tuxedos!

New merchandise will also be on sale, including clear cases, acrylic stands, and more, all featuring the new artwork.

Christmas card-style flyers will also be handed out at select Animate stores starting December 3 while supplies last, so be sure to celebrate the holiday season with the cast of Tokyo Revengers!

(C)和久井健・講談社／アニメ「東京リベンジャーズ」製作委員会

The word ‘kawaii’ is now commonly used around the world. Sanrio is largely to thank for this, and the beloved company has announced that the 60th Anniversary Sanrio Exhibition will open at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art from February 11 until April 2, 2023. Advance tickets will include a discount and will be available until November 14 online. 

“Sanrio celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020, and the company continues to share Japan’s character culture with fans around the world,” Sanrio said in a comment. “Kawaii is now a universal language, and this is very much thanks to the over 450 characters that are part of Sanrio’s history, from Hello Kitty to My Melody. 

This exhibition traces the history of Sanrio and guests can enjoy seeing rare materials including merchandise, publications, and early designs from the company’s founding. We want to continue to grow and develop our characters while valuing communication with our fans, ensuring that our adorable characters are loved by generations to come.”

The Sanrio exhibition is something that generations of fans can enjoy, so come immerse yourself in this kawaii world! For more details, visit the official website. 

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the globally popular Naruto anime series, NARUTO THE GALLERY will be held at AKIBA_SQUARE inside Akihabara UDX from December 10, 2022 until January 31, 2023. The gallery will feature collaborations with five animators. 

This will be the first Naruto exhibition held since 2015. The event will focus on the growth of the characters, the bonds they share with their friends, and the many fights that have taken place over the past two decades. 

Iconic scenes from the Naruto anime series will be on display in collaboration with five up-and-coming animators: Ai Niina, Kohei Kadowaki, que, Kosuke Sugimoto, and Kohta Morie. This will give fans the chance to see an unprecedented and unique view of the world of Naruto which can only be seen at the event. 

Admission Bonus: Gemaki-style Card

Goods

An original Gemaki-style Card featuring a newly-drawn visual will be handed out to those visiting the exhibition. 

The first lineup of exclusive event-only merchandise has been revealed and longtime fans of the series won’t want to miss adding some of these goods to their collection. 

Participating Artists / Episode

Ai Niina / Sasuke’s Ninja Way

Kohei Kadowaki / Naruto’s Path

que / The Land of Waves

Kosuke Sugimoto / Sasuke’s Vessel

Kohta Morie / Naruto and Kurama

©NARUTO THE GALLERY実行委員会

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. 

Our National Treasures: 150 Years in the Future is a new exhibition at Tokyo National Museum, and everyone’s favorite virtual diva is making an appearance! Crypton Future Media is helping to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the museum by submitting Hatsune Miku as a potential candidate for a national treasure 150 years in the future. The exhibition opened on November 2 and will run until January 29, 2023 inside the Hyokeikan at the Tokyo National Museum.

The exhibition is the first event being held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the museum and is the first exhibition in the museum’s history to be held in an open-call format. The Hyokeikan, an Important Cultural Property, represents the Western-style architecture that was in vogue during the late Meiji period. Treasures collected from both individuals and companies will be displayed as candidates for what could become national treasures in another 150 years.

The exhibition is divided into individual and corporate submissions, with the general section displaying a variety of treasures selected from entries from all over Japan. The corporate section features important products and technology that have been responsible for the development of Japanese society, food, clothing, and housing culture, as well as examples of entertainment and sports culture from Japan that has gained popularity around the world.

Hatsune Miku has been added as a potential candidate, as the virtual singer has inspired people from around the world to become more creative.

In conjunction with the exhibition, collaborative products are also on sale. The Museum Shop inside the Tokyo National Museum’s Main Gate Plaza and the online store are now selling these unique Hatsune Miku products, so grab them while you can.

What will Japanese culture look like in another 150 years?

More details about the upcoming Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown arc have been revealed.

In a new trailer, fans got their first look at Taiju Shiba, a character exclusive to the Christmas Showdown arc. First Division Captain Seishu Inui and Hajime Kokonoi also make appearances.

Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown Trailer
https://youtu.be/hfj7HaTbMSQ

Tomokazu Sugita will play Taiju Shiba, while Yuzuha Shiba will be portrayed by Mikako Komatsu. Character visuals for the two have also been revealed, along with a brand-new key visual for the series showing a stoic Takemichi Hanagaki.

The series will be broadcast on 37 stations nationwide, and an advance screening will be held on December 24, showing three episodes prior to their official broadcast. This will also include a chat with the main cast, and the ticket lottery is now open.

Tokyo Revengers will return with the Christmas Showdown arc in January 2023. Will you be tuning in?

 ©和久井健・講談社／アニメ「東京リベンジャーズ」製作委員会

Mika Pikazo is an illustrator and character designer. The artist has designed characters for many popular titles including Fire Emblem Engage, the latest in Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series, as well as book covers and CD jackets.

Starting December 10, the artist will hold his second solo exhibition in three years at the Hz event space in Shibuya.

According to a press release, the exhibition is being held to show a number of creations Pikazo has made recently, and aims to show off new animation and past illustrations to merge his past and future selves. The creator hopes to challenge himself more going forward.

The first main visual, REVENGE, can be seen on the exhibition’s official website. A total of three visuals have been newly drawn for the event and will be released sequentially. In addition, a number of collaborative works with other creators will be on display, so art fans won’t want to miss out.

Limited-edition merchandise featuring new illustrations will be on sale at the venue, and autograph sessions are planned to be held. For more details, check the official Twitter page!

Be sure to come to see Mika Pikazo’s colorful pieces in person!

Anime and manga merchandise seller AMNIBUS will hold an exhibition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Kazuya Minekura’s Saiyuki series! The art exhibition will be held in Osaka, Tokyo, and Fukuoka, with the Osaka event beginning on December 30, 2022, and running through January 15, 2023. The Tokyo event will run from May 12 until May 28, 2023, and the Fukuoka event will run from August 11 until September 3, 2023. Additional events will be held in other locations to be announced at a later date.

Minekura’s Saiyuki manga series has sold over 25 million copies as of January 2021. Loosely based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, the series tells the story of four heroes traveling west to stop demons from killing all of mankind. Over the past 25 years, the manga series has spawned several anime adaptations, live-action musicals, video games, and more.

The exhibition will feature plenty of must-see items for fans, from original manuscripts to full-color drawings by the original creator. Will you be attending this once-in-a-lifetime event?

*Addition venues, exhibition details, ticket and merchandise sales information, and additional details will be announced at a later date.

©峰倉かずや／一迅社

A collaboration cafe and pop-up shop inspired by the popular anime series Tokyo Revengers will open again this year following a successful run in 2021. The event will be held on the fourth floor of Tokyo Solamachi from November 3 until December 2, 2022.

Collaboration Merch

The collaboration will feature a variety of limited-edition goods with new designs based on the theme of the ‘backstreets.’ The lineup includes acrylic stands, clear folders, and plenty more. Special Baji birthday goods will also be available on November 3!

Collaboration Menu

The popular collaboration menu features food items inspired by the show’s characters, and guests will be able to enjoy everything from curry and yakisoba to pancakes and crepes. Even if you’re not hungry, you can still grab a drink!

Baji’s Birthday Celebration Event

From November 3 until November 7, fans of Baji won’t want to miss his birthday event. During this time, guests will be able to snag a special sweets plate, so don’t miss it!

See the official website for more details!

Crayon Shin-chan’s 30th Anniversary Exhibition will be held at Ikebukuro Sunshine City starting December 17, 2022. Humorously titled The Adventure in Ass Wonderland, the interactive exhibition will pay homage to the past three decades of the beloved anime series. In conjunction with the event, a key visual drawn especially for this exhibition has also been unveiled.

This special exhibition looking back on the 30th anniversary of the anime series and films will feature many hands-on Crayon Shin-chan projects based on the theme of Shinnosuke’s butt. More details will be announced soon, so stay tuned.

Advance tickets for the exhibition will be on sale starting November 17, 2022. The exhibition is also scheduled to travel to other venues in Japan beginning in 2023. See the official website for more information. 

©臼井儀人／双葉社・シンエイ・テレビ朝日・ADK

Art collective teamLab will exhibit its first NFT work, Matter is Void – Water, at teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM in Toyosu, Tokyo starting November 1, 2022. This is the collective’s first NFT work to be released through Pace Gallery’s NFT platform Pace Verso, and those interested can purchase one starting October 19 at 11:00 EST. Outside of Japan, the work will be exhibited for the first time in Paris at Paris+ par Art Basel, the world’s largest contemporary art fair, and on a giant billboard in Times Square in New York City. At teamLab Planets in Tokyo, the exhibit will be housed in an incredible immersive space. 

The Matter is Void NFT project includes seven NFT works. One of these, titled Matter is Void – Water, will be on display at teamLab Planets.

“Although only one of the seven NFTs will be for sale, anyone can download and own the overall work itself, whether or not they own the NFT. In other words, the uniqueness of the work is not conferred by the NFT, and nothing can distinguish the downloaded work.  Regardless of whether a person owns the NFT or not, it is all still authentic.

teamLab’s work is titled Matter is Void. However, owners of the NFT can change this title, and this change will be reflected in all works downloaded and owned by people around the world. Even the text on exhibition at teamLab Planets will be rewritten!

The value of the work change depending on the text added by NFT owners. If the words are valuable, more people will want to own it–if the words are nonsense or without value, no one will want it on display. This will keep people from writing something offensive or useless. Everyone will want to write something that will make the value increase. It’s all decided by the owners!

Also, even if the NFT owner reverts back to “Matter is Void” after rewriting it in other words, the words “Matter is Void” will be written with different wording.

Once the NFT is altered, it will never go back to the way it was. That makes this a more novel and exciting experience!”