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The massive hit manga Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara is currently serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump. Beginning Feb. 1, the first-ever manga exhibition for the series will be held on the Yamanote Line. The big project is to commemorate the series’ 10th anniversary since it began serialization. The trains that are part of the “Yamanote Line Kindom Exhibition” will be in service throughout central Tokyo.
The exhibit is being realized through all 11 trains on the Yamanote Line being taken over. Trains will of course be wrapped in artwork, and the spaces usually reserved for advertisements will be covered with materials relating to Kingdom. The trains will have a museum aspect to them, just like a moving exhibit.
The manga Kingdom is set in the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period of Chinese history and has become a huge hit with over 22 million copies of the tankobon volumes in print. Its highlights are its rich human drama and its intensity that could only come from a period piece. Two seasons of its TV anime were broadcast beginning in 2012. The content of the series is also highly valued, and its awards include the 17th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for manga in 2013. The upcoming large-scale exhibit came to fruition from wanting the series to have a role in pulling forward the world of manga and wanting to introduce its charms to as many people as possible. The exhibit will be held from Feb. 1–15 on the Yamanote Line.
Extravagant works will be on display inside the trains. First off, there will be reproduced original drawings and key frames by Yasuhisa Hara. There will also be plenty of materials shown for the first time including unreleased color key frames from before serialization. Riders will be able to compare storyboards with the finished manuscripts, and there will be an area where Hara himself explains famous scenes, storyboards from episode 1 on display, reproductions of famous scenes, and more. The exhibit will be loaded with exciting, heart-pounding content.
An interesting point regarding the exhibit is how to happen across one of the trains. Train schedules can be confirmed on a special site for the exhibit. There, popular character He Liao Diao give real-time updates on where the trains are. Expect huge excitement to build for this exhibit the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
Yamanote Line Kingdom Exhibition
Dates: Monday, Feb. 1 – Monday, Feb. 15, 2016
© Yasuhisa Hara / Shueisha Inc.
Source: animeanime
