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.

©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!

Netflix will begin streaming the sci-fi anime series Make My Day on February 2, 2023. The series is an adaptation of an original story by manga author Yasuo Ohtagaki, known for Moonlight Mile and Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt. Shoji Kawamori, the mechanical designer on the Macross series, and Kiyotaka Oshiyama, known for his work on DEVILMAN Crybaby and Chainsaw Man, are acting as mechanical designers for the series.

The sci-fi action series follows a collection of characters on a tough mission across an icy planet where terrifying creatures suddenly appear to attack humans.

A gripping trailer and collection of screenshots have been revealed ahead of the series premiere. Fans can anticipate voicework by Masaomi Yamahashi (Jim), Ayahi Takagaki (Marnine), Kazuhiro Yamaji (Walter), and Akio Ohtsuka (Commander Bark).

Netflix has also announced that Atsuko Tanaka, known for her role as Motoko Kusanagi in the Ghost in the Shell series, will be playing the role of Cathy Beck, a government officer on the planet Coldfoot.

The writer of the series, Yasuo Ohtagaki, has stated that James Cameron’s Aliens was his inspiration for the work, remaking that the horror film challenged the 80s industry standard of splatter movies.

The snowy, ice-covered planet Coldfoot is home to a precious energy-rich ore called “Sig.” On the surface, the planet seems to be a crime-free utopia, but in reality, prisoners are used for back-breaking Sig mining. Jim, a young prison guard, rushes to the site of a sudden mining accident to find a mysterious creature attacking the humans.

In the trailer, Cathy explains that the planet’s atmosphere is poisonous and the surface is completely frozen. “This is a white hell that rejects living beings,” she continues. “Only those who are suicidal should consider escaping.”

When the swarm begins attacking with abandon, viewers are left asking one question: can people survive such a desperate situation? Walter claims that their actions have “opened up the cauldron of Hell,” and it’s hard to imagine so many different people coming together to combat something so terrifying and unknown.

“When crafting a story around the sudden appearance of monsters, I was constantly thinking about Aliens 2,” Ohtagaki commented. “It challenged the expectation that every sci-fi horror film in the 80s needed to be a splatter-fest.”

The series is a love letter to the science fiction genre. Cameron’s Aliens was far from his last mega-hit, with the current Avatar sequel making headlines around the world.

“When I was developing the story, I focused on not taking the viewer’s perspective off of Jim, the main character,” Ohtagaki continued. “I wanted people to become emotionally involved in this story by experiencing it through his eyes and ears. I was influenced by first-person action RPGs.”

To combat the swarm of monsters, humanity must rely on science and technology.

The eye-catching design of the mecha seen in the trailer is reminiscent of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt and Macross while also being more modern and realistic.

“Logical and realistic mecha design is my forte, and that’s the direction I wanted to take in this work,” said Ohtagaki. “In Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, we set the stage and carefully went through a creative process to find out what kind of human drama could evolve on that stage. We did the same thing here, creating Coldfoot and imagining what kinds of people might live there. That process makes things more realistic.” Will the mecha in this series be a help or a hindrance to humanity?

“Although this is a sci-fi monster tale, Make My Day is also about Jim’s growth as a person. In the process of battling through this terrible situation, he learns about friendship and love. He becomes stronger, he takes on more responsibility, and he creates his own family-like bonds,” Ohtagaki concludes.

Tune in to Make My Day when it premieres on Netflix early next month!

The popular Netflix animated series Aggretsuko will return to Netflix for Season 5 on February 16, 2023. Ahead of the show’s premiere, a new visual and trailer have been released.

Aggretsuko follows a 25-year-old red panda named Retsuko who hates her job and is easily stressed. She only feels true peace while singing karaoke, where she transforms into a death metal star. The series originally launched on Netflix in 2018 and quickly became a global sensation.

Season 5 will be the final season of the series and will focus on the relationship between Retsuko and Haida following the events of the fourth season. Haida is now living a reclusive life and spending his free time playing games and hanging out online. On the other hand, Retsuko is trying to deal with her newfound fame and the many expectations people have of her. One day, a suspicious man who claims to be a member of the Diet comes to recruit Retsuko.

Be sure to tune in for the exciting conclusion!

To celebrate the release of the final season, the OTMGirls girls will perform at Sanrio Puroland.