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Naruto Commemorative Exhibit Resurrects Series Highlights
posted on by Eric Stimson
The Naruto manga ended last November after running in Weekly Shonen Jump for 15 years. To celebrate the series' long run and look forward to future installments of the franchise, the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo will hold an exhibit on Naruto called Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto Exhibit - Commemorating the End of Serialization.
The exhibit's centerpiece is a 3.6 meter (11.8 feet) recreation of the faces of previous Hokage carved into the mountainside along with Naruto defacing them.
About 150 pieces of artwork — original sketches and colored illustrations — are on display, many of them focusing on key battles of the manga and Naruto's rivalry with Sasuke. Some are supplemented by messages from Naruto's creator, Masashi Kishimoto. The Final Valley, where Naruto and Sasuke fought an epic battle, has been recreated as well.
Visitors are also greeted by life-size statues of Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi.
An exclusive movie, Konoha Aunza, is also screened for guests.
A separate room focuses on the story's conclusion and includes a filmed interview with Kishimoto. The desk at Nagi Town Library in west Honshu's Okayama Prefecture, where Kishimoto first conceived the Naruto story, has been recreated. Other exhibits look at the upcoming Naruto spin-off manga, Naruto Gaiden: Nanadaime Hokage to Akairo no Hanatsuzuki, as well as Boruto -Naruto the Movie-, which premieres on August 7.
The exhibit was unveiled for press on April 23 in a ceremony by the comedian Yoshio Kojima, Nogizaka46 member Rina Ikoma, and a sumō wrestler named Naruto. Ikoma admitted to being a big Naruto fan and advised visitors to bring towels to wipe away their tears. Kojima performed a "Rasengan Happy" dance and challenged Naruto to a sumō match for the title of Hokage.
The exhibit will open to the public on April 25 and last until June 28 in Roppongi Hills. It will then move on to Osaka's Bunka-kan in Mount Tenpō from July 18 to September 27. Tickets can be bought at LAWSON or Ministop convenience stores or at the website Lawticke.com. Visitors get a free guestbook that might finally reveal Kakashi's face.
[Via Comic Natalie and Man Tan Web]
