The 1988 film AKIRA, based on the 1982 manga of the same name, is one of the most influential pieces of anime to ever be created. Both the film and manga are set in the cyberpunk post-apocalypse city known as Neo Tokyo, a location that has become iconic in both the cyberpunk and anime genres. The background artwork for the city is set to get its own art exhibition called “The Architecture of Neo Tokyo” which will be on display at the Tchoban Foundation, Museum for Architectural Drawing in Berlin, Germany, presented by the Riekeles Gallery. The exhibition will kick off on June 4 and will last until September 4.
The exhibition will be showcasing 59 original production backgrounds, layout drawings, concept designs, and image boards that were used to bring the city of Neo Tokyo to life in the film. These art pieces have never been shown outside of Japan, with only a few having ever been officially published. The exhibition will include the works of Toshiharu Mizutani, the art director of the acclaimed feature, as well as his colleagues that worked on the project, including Katsufumi Hariu, Norihiro Hiraki, Shinji Kimura, Satoshi Kuroda, Hiromasa Ogura, Hiroshi Ōno, Hajime Soga, Tsutomu Uchida, and Takashi Watabe. This exhibition joins a growing lineup of anime architecture that has been shown off at the Tchoban Foundation, Museum for Architectural Drawing, with 2016’s “Anime Architecture” showing off similar artwork of the cities of Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor – The Movie, and Metropolis.
AKIRA is celebrated as one of the best movies in both anime as well as the science fiction genre as a whole, making it a cornerstone in Japanese animation with many other films from both Japan and the world as a whole paying homage to it. As the exhibition’s official description says, “For many viewers, AKIRA was the first film that they perceived as anime – as specifically Japanese animation. As such, it had a tremendous influence on a whole generation of film enthusiasts. Much of AKIRA’s cinematic power stems from the opulent representation of the film’s iconic city of Neo Tokyo.”
Stefan Riekeles, Managing Director of the Riekeles Gallery, will curate the exhibition in collaboration with Nadejda Bartels, Director of Tchoban Foundation. Hiroko Myokam of Eizo Workshop (Japan) will also serve as a co-curator of the show. The exhibition will also be selling certain copies of the immaculate artwork, with them currently taking pre-orders. These will include high-end solegraph reproductions that will be signed by the artists, with only 25 available, as well as poster prints. Delivery starts on Tuesday, June 7, 2022.
The “The Architecture of Neo Tokyo” exhibition at the Tchoban Foundation, Museum for Architectural Drawing in Berlin and presented by Riekeles Gallery will begin on June 4 and will be available until September 4. You can find additional information on the exhibition’s official website here.
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