Interest
Chihayafuru Creator Searches for Auctioned Manga Art for New Exhibit
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Chihayafuru manga creator Yuki Suetsugu tweeted on Thursday that she is still looking for charity art auctioned in 2012 to support recovery efforts for 2011's Great Eastern Japan Earthquake disaster. Suetsugu wants to borrow the art from its owners to display at the "Chihayafuru no Sekai ~Suetsugu Yuki Hatsu Genga-ten~" (The World of Chihayafuru: Yuki Suetsugu's First Original Art Exhibit) exhibition that debuts at the end of this month. Suetsugu apologized in the tweet and said that she will put her effort into preparing the other works for the exhibit if she is unable to find the auctioned art. She also included pictures of the art in the tweet.
Suetsugu was one of many manga creators to contribute art to the the "Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan" nonprofit aid group's auctions in 2012. Proceeds went to various support projects related to the 2011 earthquake disaster.
As part of the manga's 10th anniversary celebration, the upcoming Chihayafuru exhibit will display Suetsugu's original illustrations, manuscripts, and storyboards, as well as a recreation of Suetsugu's studio and a video showing production of the exhibit's main visual. The exhibit will offer reproduced illustrations and exclusive merchandise for purchase.
The exhibit will debut at Seibu's main department store in Ikebukuro, Tokyo on March 23 and run there until April 1. The exhibit will also run at Abeno Harukas in Osaka in April and at Mitsukoshi department store in Nagoya, Aichi in May.
Suetsugu launched the manga in Kodansha's Be Love magazine in December 2007, and Kodansha published the manga's 37th compiled volume on February 13. The manga has more than 21 million copies in print in Japan. Kodansha Comics is releasing the manga digitally in English. The manga's third live-action film adaptation will open on March 17, and a third anime season is slated for 2019.
Thanks to Verso Sciolto for the tip.
