Tour of the seven exhibitions at the Manga Barcelona show

The Manga Barcelona show is about to explode.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
07 December 2022 Wednesday 21:55
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Tour of the seven exhibitions at the Manga Barcelona show

The Manga Barcelona show is about to explode. From December 8 to 11, what is considered one of the most important manga events in the world will be installed for the first time at the Fira Gran Via venue in Barcelona, ​​in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, a space with many more meters squares –a total of 82,000– than its previous location in Montjuic. There, otakus –manga fans– will be able to meet their favorite mangakas –manga comic authors– and find out first-hand about editorial news, as well as browse the seven exhibitions that the organizers have prepared for this edition.

The first one is dedicated to The Darwin Incident, Shun Umezawa's work that won the Manga Division Excellence Award at the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival. It is an action-packed social critique whose protagonist is a human-chimpanzee hybrid who travels through a New York assaulted by a terrorist group.

Although the author was expected to attend the show to meet his followers first-hand and present the exhibition, the director of Ficomic, Meritxell Puig, regretted that it will not be possible due to health problems.

More and more Spanish authors are dedicated to manga. Over the years, and with the arrival of DragonBall on newsstands more than 30 years ago, the public has expanded and, also, the tastes. Readers no longer believe in an exclusively Japanese manga, and that has made it easier for many who have delved into this art and have begun to create their own works. This exhibition collects some of the names that sound the most in our country, from consolidated authors to other novelties that have been stomping.

The Joso school in Barcelona is one of the leading centers in Spain dedicated to the world of comics and manga. In this space, visitors will be able to enjoy a sample of work done by concept art students for the activity of creating a promotional poster adjusting to the elements of a video game license.

In one way or another, sports are almost always present in manga. Beyond the traditionally Japanese disciplines, such as judo, kendo or aikido, football has been gaining strength for years. From Oliver and Benji and Captain Tsubasa, more and more manga are dedicated to this topic. After the success of these two series of drawings, the Japanese began to become fond of soccer.

In the hall, a series of totem poles decorated with some of the most popular characters from sports manga will introduce the visitor to the Japanese sports culture, with stories of overcoming and friendship.

If there is a characteristic piece of clothing in Japanese culture, that is none other than the kimono. In Western culture, it is very present through anime and manga that are consumed, since many of its characters, both female and male, have worn it in their adventures. The exhibition will focus on this versatile piece, which can be useful for high-class parties, such as weddings or graduations, or for day-to-day use, in its simplest designs.

And if the kimono was an essential piece of Japanese culture, it can be said that cosplay comes to be something like "a religion", in the words of the director of Ficomic. The salon is also one of the places where cosplayers, those who dress up as their favorite manga characters, are one of the places where their accessories shine the most. This 2022 has been a good year for cosplay made in Spain in international competitions. In this exhibition, the hall exhibits the designs that have represented Spain in the main competitions.

The little ones will also be able to enjoy the room in a space dedicated to them, where they will be able to learn about Japanese schools. What are the uniforms like? What do they eat at noon? What do they play at recess? These are some of the questions that they will be able to answer thanks to this interactive exhibition, in which they will be able to dress up as a schoolboy and become a Japanese student for a day.