Manga Exhibition British Museum London

Manga Exhibition British Museum in association with Citi. The largest ever Manga exhibition outside of Japan pops up in the British Museum for a closer look at the Japanese graphic style. Find out about manga’s global appeal, its crossover with other art forms and its worldwide influence. 23 May-26 August.

Enter a graphic world where art and storytelling collide in the largest exhibition of manga ever to take place outside of Japan.

Manga is a visual narrative art form that has become a multimedia global phenomenon, telling stories with themes from gender to adventure, in real or imagined worlds.

Immersive and playful, the exhibition will explore manga’s global appeal and cultural crossover, showcasing original Japanese manga and its influence across the globe, from anime to ‘cosplay’ dressing up. This influential art form entertains, inspires and challenges – and is brought to life like never before in this ground-breaking exhibition.

This is Manga – the Art of URASAWA NAOKI’ will run June 5 – July 28 and coincide with the Citi exhibition ‘Manga’ at the British Museum. They will collaborate on a range of events including film screenings, late events, lectures and workshops.

Visitors will be able to don “cosplay” costumes and browse the shelves of a virtual manga bookshop when some 130 objects including original drawings, books and games go on show in May.

Manga, which translates as “pictures run riot”, traces its roots back to the 19th-century Japanese artist ­Katsushika Hokusai — but it has now become a multi-billion-pound global industry, with comics, graphic novels, films and games all showing its ­influence.

Curator Nicole Rousmaniere said she expected the show to be an “eye-opener” for many visitors who are unaware of the “depth” of the genre, which can cover topics from sexual politics to the destruction of Hiroshima.

The British Museum wants to show visitors there’s a version of manga out there for everyone. And if you feel unconvinced, this might be the show to help convert you to the manga cause. The exhibition will have an area for trying on cosplay costumes and a video booth where you can get ‘manga-fied’.

A section of the oldest surviving manga bookshop in Tokyo is also being recreated for visitors to browse in, but the main bulk of the show will be filled with manga art old and new. Fans of the Japanese art can look forward to seeing original works by artists including Tezuka Osamu, Oda Eiichirō, Hagio Moto, Takemiya Keiko and Higashimura Akiko.