Animage and Ghibli Exhibition to Open on April 15! A look back at the history of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" and "Gundam

Matsuya Ginza will hold the "'Animage and Ghibli' Exhibition: Ghibli Began with a Single Magazine" from April 15 (Thu) to May 5 (Wed) at Event Square on the 8th floor.
(The second ticket lottery sales will start from 17:00 on 3/17(Wed.).

⇒ Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2021" award ceremony report has arrived! The Best Theatrical Film Award went to "Violet Evergarden".

The exhibition will feature more than 200 items, including celluloid drawings of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind," which will be exhibited for the first time, and valuable materials from Mamoru Oshii's "Tenshi no Tamago" (Angel's Egg). Prior to the opening of the exhibition, advance ticket applications by lottery have been accepted since March 8 (Mon.). An official SNS was also set up to provide the latest information on Animage and the Ghibli exhibition.

Information about the exhibition
Animage and Ghibli Exhibition - Ghibli began with a single magazine.
Official website of the exhibition: ##
Period: April 15 (Thu) - May 5 (Wed), 2021
Place: Matsuya Ginza 8th Floor Event Square
Opening hours: 10:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. (closing at 5:00 p.m. on the last day; admission until 30 minutes before closing)

*Date and time must be designated.
*Opening days and hours are subject to change depending on the spread of the new coronavirus infection. For details, please visit the Matsuya website.

Planning and production: Neutral Corporation Inc.
Planning cooperation: Studio Ghibli Inc. and the Mitaka no Mori Ghibli Museum of Art
Cooperation ：Tokuma Shoten Co.

A look back at the path of Toshio Suzuki, one of the pioneers in the development of Japanese animation.

This exhibition focuses on the period of Toshio Suzuki's career as an editor (from the late 1970s to the 1980s), from a time when the word "anime" had not even spread, to the boom period when anime took a great leap forward both qualitatively and quantitatively with the huge hit of "Mobile Suit Gundam" in 1979, and then to the period of the "Gundam boom" in 1979. Mr. Suzuki's discovery of directors Takahata and Miyazaki, who would later lead to Ghibli, and his inclination toward filmmaking with them.

In the past, TV animation was "something for children to watch," but after "Space Battleship Yamato" was broadcast in 1974, young people began to perceive animation as a work for them. Animage" was born amidst the excitement of anime in this era, as Japan's first commercial anime magazine to serve as a bridge between fans and creators. Mr. Suzuki was one of the key figures who paved the way for the development of Japanese animation to this point by creating "Animage.

One of the major achievements of "Animage" was to discover talented artists in the midst of the anime boom and to bring them into the spotlight by featuring them in "Animage". This is where Mr. Suzuki's discernment as an editor and his eye for nurturing artists come into play. It was during this period that Mr. Suzuki discovered Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and through their work he created "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind," which led to the subsequent works of Ghibli. This exhibition will also reveal some of Toshio Suzuki's production and working techniques.

Toshio Suzuki

(Photo by Nobuyoshi Araki)

Gundam, Nausicaa, and four areas and exhibits

This exhibition looks back at the origins of Studio Ghibli, focusing on Toshio Suzuki, the producer of Studio Ghibli from the late 1970s to the 1980s, and his "other work" as an "editor".
Here we introduce four areas of the exhibition that trace the flow of Animage and its exhibits.

The birth of Animage! From "TV Comics" to the Anime Boom
The exhibition looks back on the rise of the anime boom in the late 1970s through the display of anime movie posters, anime goods, and celluloid collections from that period.
At a time when the term "anime" was not even defined and was lumped together as "TV cartoons," there were young people who created their own fanzines, deepened exchanges with other fans, and sometimes even visited animation studios to meet the creators. It was against this background and with their enthusiasm that Japan's first commercial animation magazine, "Animage," was born.
In this area, animation-related publications that existed prior to "Animage" will also be widely exhibited to demonstrate the uniqueness of "Animage".

■Animage Taught Us Everything: The History Changed by Gundam
Animage" took notice of the TV animation "Mobile Suit Gundam," which began broadcasting in April 1979, and the magazine gave its full support. The magazine repeatedly featured the director Yoshiyuki (Yoshiyuki Yoshino) Tomino, people involved in art and design, and the voice actors who breathed life into the work. For the first time, readers learned about who and how animation is made, and began to look at the "artists" with the same enthusiasm as the works themselves.

In this area, we will look back at how "Animage" conveyed the Gundam boom and how fans received it, using reproductions of the magazine and production materials from the time. The exhibition also focuses on "Gundam plastic models" (Gundam plastic models), another manifestation of the Gundam boom, and includes a diorama of a famous scene from "Mobile Suit Gundam" using early Gundam plastic models in three dimensions.

Accelerating Anime Boom Expanding Animage
The anime boom, accelerated by Gundam, continues to grow as more and more young creators participate in the industry. Animage" has also been energized by Toshio Suzuki's policy of hiring a large number of part-time staff members of the same generation as fans. The scope of "Animage" activities was expanded to include large-scale fan exchange events, radio programs, records and videos, and a series of publications such as paperbacks and mookbooks. The expansion beyond the boundaries of the magazine eventually led to the production of animation works led by Mr. Suzuki himself.

In this area, visitors can enjoy a gallery of "covers" and "supplements" that strongly reflect Mr. Suzuki's orientation. The supplements, in particular, were rare for an "information magazine," with more elaborate goods, booklets, posters, and other items than those available on the market each month. The exhibition will feature valuable supplements and advertising materials that fans of the past will find irresistibly nostalgic.

■The Road to Nausicaa: A Movie is Born from a Single Magazine
Through editing "Animage," Mr. Suzuki met two artists. Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, the two central creators of "The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun," a masterpiece in the history of Japanese animation that was featured in the first issue of Animage. Mr. Suzuki took the opportunity of a 31-page feature on Hayao Miyazaki in the August 1981 issue, at a time when Leiji Matsumoto's animations such as Gundam and Space Battleship Yamato were extremely popular, to declare his intention to take a line closer to Mr. Takahata and Mr. Miyazaki.

In this area, we look back on the path from the start of the original manga serialization in the February 1982 issue to the birth of the movie "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" in 1984. In addition, a number of rare layouts, original drawings, art boards, and other materials rarely introduced until now are exhibited from the perspective of how the artists were introduced in "Animage". Among them, other video works produced by Tokuma Shoten were introduced together as an indication that video production began with "Animage" magazine. The exhibition also features valuable materials from Mamoru Oshii's "Tenshi no Tamago (Angel's Egg)," in which Mr. Suzuki put a lot of effort, and the celluloid drawings of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind," which are being exhibited for the first time.

Ticket information The second lottery will be held from March 17!

Admission to the exhibition is by date and time on all days. Please decide the date and time of your visit in advance and purchase tickets (tickets may be sold out depending on the admission date and time).

<Date and time ticket for admission
Advance tickets】Adult ￥1,300 / High school student ￥800 / Junior high school student ￥600 / Elementary school student ￥400
Adult ￥1,500／High school student ￥1,000／Junior high school student ￥800／Elementary school student ￥600

Admission to the Goods Corner only is not permitted for those who do not have a date/time-designated ticket or a date/time-designated admission ticket.
After 4/15 (Thu.), all tickets will be charged on the day of the event.
If tickets are sold out in advance, no day-of-performance tickets will be sold.
Matsuya Card, Matsuya Gold Card, Matsuya Tomonokai Card, Shareholder Shopping Discount Card, and Disability Certificate holders will be offered a "date/time-specific numbered admission ticket (free of charge)" separately, but it will be selected by lottery. For information on how to apply, please visit the Matsuya website.

<Sales Schedule
(1) Lottery Pre-registration
1st lottery sales: Finished
2nd lottery sales: 3/17 (Wed.) 17:00 - 3/21 (Sun.) 23:59

(2) General sales
Advance sales: 3/27 (Sat) 10:00 -
On the day: 4/15 (Thu.) 0:00 - each day and each admission start time
*First-come-first-served basis. If the planned number of admission tickets are sold out at the advance registration, general sales will not be conducted.

<How to purchase tickets
Tickets are available at Lawson Ticket (L code 37000).
Applications for the first and second lotteries are accepted online only. Applications cannot be made at in-store Loppi machines.
For details, please visit the Lawson Ticket website ( # ).

Measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus
Matsuya Ginza will take the following measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and to ensure the safety of customers and employees.
Customers who are not wearing a mask may not be allowed to enter the store.
We may refuse entry to customers whose body temperature is 37.5°C or higher or who are not in good physical condition.
*Please disinfect your fingers upon entry and wash your hands frequently.
*To prevent infection, please do not touch the walls or display cases.
Please keep a safe distance from other visitors in the exhibition hall and when viewing the works.
Please refrain from talking to others in the exhibition and sales areas as much as possible.
Vinyl gloves are available in the sales area. Please ask if you would like to use them.
Please refer to the Matsuya website for more information on measures to prevent the spread of infection.

The official SNS will also provide the latest information on the exhibition, goods, and tickets, as well as behind-the-scenes photos of preparations and the exhibition, which can only be seen on the SNS.

Twitter: @animage_ghibli
Instagram: @animage_ghibli

© 1984 Studio Ghibli H