I went to the Kohta Hirano Grand Exhibition
As the title suggests, I went to the Kohta Hirano Grand Exhibition. Since I can go after work, I really appreciate living and working around Ikebukuro at times like this.
Who is Kohta Hirano?
Google it. He's a manga artist from Adachi Ward, a total nerd who draws with insane detail. When I was in high school, I read 'HELLSING' and got completely hooked, and it's become one of the few manga in my life that I've read over and over again.
(By the way, are the others just 'Dokaben' and 'Doraemon' or something?)
Where is it being held?
Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. It's from 2025/03/27 (Thu) to 2025/04/13 (Sun), so be careful. I went on a Friday evening and it was reasonably empty. I'm sure it'll be crazy on the weekends.
What about the exhibits?
The main focus is original drawings from 'HELLSING' and 'DRIFTERS' (currently being serialized), and other than that, there's cosplay worn by Enako and models of important objects from the works.
I bought my ticket in advance at a Lawson near my workplace for 2300 yen, but there was no one in line for same-day tickets, so if it's a weekday, same-day tickets might be fine.
As expected, there was no one from Gen Z or younger; the crowd was mainly nerdy men in their 30s to 50s, but there were a few women here and there, which was surprising. Well, both works have androgynous characters, and they aren't exactly stuffy works...
What about photos?
Photography was allowed, but I'm intentionally not posting any because it's much better to see the original drawings yourself. If you're really curious, you can find plenty of blogs and notes if you Google it.
It was my first time going to an original drawing exhibition, and since Kohta Hirano-sensei is a manga artist with truly insane, hardcore detail, even someone with zero aesthetic sense like me is impressed when seeing the real thing. When you see this much hand-drawing, you really feel like, 'How many weeks does it take to finish one chapter...'
Also, I do feel like his drawing ability has improved for 'DRIFTERS'. Though I still prefer 'HELLSING' as a work.
By the way, in the pencil notes on the original drawings, there is a part that says
'Brave Witches, please take care of it'
so try to look for it.
Brave Witches is this ↓
How satisfied were you?
2300 yen is about the same as a special exhibition at the National Museum of Nature and Science, and a bit more than a movie, but the satisfaction level is higher than that. It's just a joy to be able to see the original drawings of a work that I've read over and over and over again. Hirano is truly amazing.
By the way, there was a cosplay event on the same floor, and there were many women with various hair colors and women pulling suitcases, and I thought, 'Oh... so this is what they look like in person...photo editing is amazing'. That's irrelevant, though. It is a sacred place for cosplay, after all.