Model, DJ, and photographer Hikari Shibata will hold her first photo exhibition in five years, THROUGH THE WINDOW, at the FLOAT Gallery in Tokyo for four days starting September 8, 2023.

The exhibition’s title was inspired by Shibata’s shyness, which has always led her to photograph landscapes rather than people. Many photos were taken through windows, and both the view and reflections are meaningful and personal to Shibata herself.

This year’s exhibition features photos of daily life taken in Copenhagen, Denmark’s largest city, where Shibata stayed for a total of three weeks in March 2023. It will also feature photographs snapped in Berlin, Los Angeles, and New York City.

Shibata will visit the gallery in person to present her creations. In addition to the sale of exhibited photographs, guests will also be able to purchase T-shirts, hats, and Shibata’s first photobook, the latter of which is available in limited quantities. The self-published 112-page hardcover book was entirely designed by Shibata herself. T-shirts will be available in two colors and feature the title of the exhibition, while hats will come in three colors with an embroidered graphic image of the sun reflected in a window.

Starting March 4, the permanent museum teamLab Forest Fukuoka will transform its artwork into a stunning spring theme. Guests will be able to enjoy gorgeous cherry blossoms for a limited time, and starting March 24, the Catching and Collecting Forest will also be transformed in the same way.

TeamLab’s works are created in real time by procedural generation, meaning that they are always changing and evolving. Each work changes depending on the season.

▼Starting March 4

Both Shifting Valley, Living Creatures of Flowers, Symbiotic Lives – A Whole Year per Year and Animals of Flowers, Symbiotic Lives II – A Whole Year per Year are only available to see during spring. Come and see animals made entirely of cherry blossoms as they roam through the museum!

The work titled Soft Terrain in Granular Topography shows multicolored grains of light pouring from the sky, while Flutter of Butterflies, Ephemeral Life surrounds visitors with brightly colored butterflies

▼Starting March 24

In the Catching and Collecting Forest, visitors can explore with their smartphones and catch various animals made entirely of cherry blossoms.

Ahead of the global release of the band’s concept album THE OTHER ONE on March 24, 2023, BABYMETAL has released the songLight and Darkness. This is the fourth track released since October 2023, and the music video has also been uploaded to the official Youtube channel.

Light and Darkness - BABYMETAL

The music video contains footage from the BABYMETAL RETURNS -THE OTHER ONE- live performances held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on January 28 and 29. This marked the return of the group after a hiatus almost lasting two years.

To coincide with BABYMETAL’s 10th anniversary last year, the group announced that it would “seal” itself off from the world until further notice. In April 2022, THE OTHER ONE was announced to relaunch the group in the METALVERSE, a piece of the virtual metaverse. The upcoming concept album will be inspired by the idea of a BABYMETAL that fans don’t know, and a total of 10 songs have been discovered within THE OTHER ONE restoration project, with each song representing a specific theme based on 10 separate parallel worlds that the members have discovered. This new song is based on the theme of the restored parallel world of Light and Darkness.

Because there is light, there is darkness, and because there is darkness, there is a world that can shine. In the night when light and darkness intersect, what we seek after being poisoned and falling into the depths is a world filled with powerful love. Is it hope or despair that awaits beyond the door?

BABYMETAL’s next concert, BABYMETAL BEGINS - THE OTHER ONE, will be held at Pia Arena MM on April 1 (BLACK NIGHT) and April 2 (CLEAR NIGHT). Check out the latest music video and keep an eye on BABYMETAL as they start anew!

©永井豪／ダイナミック企画　©ダイナミック企画・東映アニメーション　©ダイナミック企画　©東映アニメーション　©松本零士／零時社・東映アニメーション

From March 21 until April 5, 2023, Matsuzakaya Nagoya will host The World of Super Robot & Hero: Kazuhiro Ochi Art Exhibition, celebrating the creator’s 45th anniversary as an artist. Ochi is well-known for his work on Mobile Suit Gundam and dozens of other popular anime series, from Martian Successor Nadesico to Urusei Yatsura.

Ochi has personally selected over 100 items to be put on display at the exhibition, including illustrations from Mazinger Z and Devilman, both of which are celebrating their 50th anniversaries. Fans can also expect to see illustrations from the newly-announced UFO Robot Grendizer project along with original sketches, promotional materials, and much more.

Available merchandise will include an art book signed by Kazuhiro Ochi himself, prints, and character goods. New Cutie Honey and Cosmic Fantasy products will also be available for purchase.

The animator himself will also be in attendance on select days, so don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet an anime legend!

Guests spending over ¥5,000 (including tax) at the exhibition during days in which Ochi is in attendance will receive an autographed illustration card only available at the Nagoya venue.

Exhibition Merch at a Glance

©Go Nagai／Dynamic Planning Illustration by K.Ochi

　©KAZUHIRO OCHI

イラスト／越智一裕 ©永井豪／ダイナミック企画

From March 14 until April 23, 2023, Tokyo Midtown Hibiya will hold Hisashi Eguchi’s Tokyo Girlfriend illustration exhibition, set to show off the artist’s unique perspectives on people and cityscapes. The exhibition will feature new illustrations of the titular girlfriend standing in the streets of Hibiya drawn especially for this exhibition, as well as various other girlfriends both large and small.

GING NANG BOYZ Kimi to Boku no Dai 3ji Taisen-teki Renai Kakumei CD Jacket (2005)

A LONG VACATION - Eiichi Ohtaki 40th Tribute Illustration (2021) ©2023 Eguchi Hisashi

Hisashi Eguchi, a manga artist and illustrator, continues to convey the charm of the city and its people by vividly depicting Tokyo and the many unique happenings within. As Tokyo Midtown Hibiya celebrates its 5th anniversary along with many other nearby businesses, the Tokyo Girlfriend exhibition of illustrations by Hisashi Eguchi is being held to celebrate.

The exhibition will feature a new painting of the mysterious girlfriend standing in the streets of Hibiya, newly created for the Tokyo Midtown Hibiya exhibition. A number of original pieces using Pantone overlay, Eguchi's favorite painting medium in the 80s and 90s, will also be on display for the first time.

During the exhibition period, guests can enjoy autograph sessions, live sketches in which Eguchi himself will draw a portrait of selected subject on the spot, and workshops where he will teach tips on how to be a better illustrator.

Don’t miss your chance to meet one of the greatest illustrators of the modern era!

To coincide with BABYMETAL’s 10th anniversary last year, the group announced that it would “seal” itself off from the world until further notice in October 2021. On January 28 and 29, 2023, the band held BABYMETAL RETURNS -THE OTHER ONE-, a two-day performance at Makuhari Messe. After a year of silence, the girls are finally back ahead of the simultaneous worldwide release of their concept album THE OTHER ONE on March 24, 2023. The two successful shows welcomed fans into the new world of BABYMETAL, attracting over 30,000 people.

On January 27, the Japanese government revised the country’s guidelines for dealing with COVID-19, abolishing the restrictions on maximum attendees allowed in concert halls. The first performance on January 28 felt even more celebratory as a result, with masked fans able to participate as if they had returned to a time before the Coronavirus. The audience cheered and the girls performed their hearts out, reviving BABYMETAL in a whole new way. BABYMETAL held the ‘LEGEND - METAL GALAXY’ concert at Makuhari Messe in January 2020–the last show prior to the world-changing pandemic.

BABYMETAL performed a total of 13 songs on January 28 and January 29, including five new songs from the upcoming concept albumTHE OTHER ONE. As the audience watched on, the venue was filled with quiet tension as the band returned to the stage for the first time in a year and a half. Fans were given Savior Masks to wear–the dress code for the BABYMETAL unsealing ceremony. At the start of the show, a story video began playing to announce the ten parallel worlds that are represented in the upcoming concept album. Ten apostles appeared on the runway stage, walking from one side to the other in veils and holding wands. A massive stone fox gate appeared, where the members of BABYMETAL were said to be frozen in eternal sleep. Arriving at the gate, the apostles raised their wands and the gate opened in a flash of light and smoke, revealing SU-METAL and MOAMETAL. The two took to the throne and the ceremony began!

The audience’s excitement rose to a fever pitch as SU-METAL rose from the throne to perform METAL KINGDOM. The audience began to get even more excited by the dynamic dancing and powerful singing of the Avengers, who joined in on the next song Divine Attack. Following, BABYMETAL’s more popular tracks began playing in rapid succession including Distortion (feat. Alissa White-Gluz), PA PA YA!! (feat. F.HERO), Gimme Chocolate!!, and Megitsune.

In the video shown before the song Doki Doki Morning, it was announced that the door to the new world, the METALVERSE, was ready to open, revealing new lifeforms and plenty of new experiences. While the first half of the song was the same as always, the second half featured a new arrangement. Suddenly, a mysterious trio appeared on another stage. It was as if a parallel world was appearing before the audience’s eyes, with both groups dancing and singing in unison.

The second half of the live performance featured the new song Light and Darkness, telling the story of a world where light and darkness intersect. The group also performed Monochrome, with the audience's smartphones beautifully illuminating the venue and adding color to the monochrome world.

As the concert began to come to a close, the audience responded by dancing along to an intense performance of Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!! The girls also performed their signature track Ijime, Dame, Zettai and Road of Resistance. BABYMETAL screamed “We are BABYMETAL,” causing the audience to respond in kind.

For the finale of BABYMETAL's revival, the group performed the new song THE LEGEND.  SU-METAL and MOAMETAL stood on two moving stages each representing the symbol of THE OTHER ONE (∞), soon starting to float in the air, moving slowly from the two ends of the stage to the center of the venue as if the two circles overlapped. The audience was soothed by SU-METAL's singing voice, which gently enveloped the venue, and MOAMETAL and her choir in white.

As the ending movie played, it was announced another seal would soon be opened, and that BABYMETAL would soon be standing on a new stage. SU-METAL and MOAMETAL appeared on stage again and began to climb the steps of an aerial staircase, reminiscent of the stairs to the living legend that appeared in the infinite universe. Two crystal coffins appeared and the girls got in, prepared to be sucked into the gate to the multiverse. Suddenly, an arrow of light was shot between the two coffins, and another crystal coffin appeared, with someone new appearing in front of the third coffin. As the three coffins came together and the gate to the new universe pulsed bright red, the performance came to an end with a flash of intense light.

BABYMETAL was successfully resurrected, sharing their determination to start anew with the audience. The BABYMETAL RETURNS - THE OTHER ONE - performance opened a gate to unknown worlds filled with mysteries far beyond our imagination. What was the third coffin? What three lifeforms appeared on the opposite stage? During the ending movie, fans were excited to see that BABYMETAL BEGINS -THE OTHER ONE- would be held at Pia Arena MM on April 1 and April 2, 2023. A new METAL will be born on Fox Day on April 1, the same day that BABYMETAL will begin the journey to a new world.

The quickest way to preorder tickets for BABYMETAL BEGINS - THE OTHER ONE - is to register for THE ONE 2023. Preorders will start on January 30 at 18:00. See the special website for more details!

BABYMETAL BEGINS - THE OTHER ONE -  will also be broadcast exclusively on WOWOW on March 25, 2023.