Hikaru Ichijo:

I had always wanted to create a MANGA someday, so even though I had no experience in developing a narrative and was a bit anxious about it being my first time, when I heard that the theme of this exhibition would be MANGA, I was really excited to take this opportunity to try it out!

Since the theme was "Creativity," I wanted to make my messy process of creation the focus of the narrative itself. I brainstormed and developed the narrative together with my friend Moe Ikeda.

Besides having the opportunity to create a MANGA, I was happy to see the reactions of so many people in New York. It was great to be able to experience the local atmosphere and think about how the MANGA was perceived by the people who live there, in the same space.

My illustrative style is to create faces without expressions, but I found it incredibly refreshing to be able to add emotions and expressions to my work. It also seemed like any single page from the MANGA could stand on its own as a painting, which is exactly what I had been trying to express through the MANGA-like pieces in my solo exhibitions.

The freedom to not be tied down by language is a kind of diversity

Katsuya Terada:

I came across Bande Dessinée (French comics) when I was about 15 years old. That experience of following a story entirely through pictures, without understanding the words, made me realize that creating a MANGA without dialogue could be a means of expressing an inner narrative.

It had been a while since I had drawn MANGA. The lack of dialogue meant that I was not tied down by language, and I think introducing a variety of characters without words allowed me to express a kind of diversity.

I do not have much of a connection to New York City, and this was my first visit in 20 years. Walking through the buildings felt like walking between sheer cliffs, and I recalled how unique the cityscape was. It was a spectacular moment to have had this experience and to have been able to draw among the astounding number of people who came to our exhibition.

I realized once again that I still have a lot to think about when it comes to drawing pictures in a MANGA format. I want to keep drawing and let this experience lead me to my next step.

Taking on new challenges while paying homage to the past

Takakurakazuki:

I have been playing Sony games since I was a child, so I was thrilled to be able to work with the company.

I wanted to challenge myself to create something new while paying homage to the past, so I created a story that incorporates elements of video games and science fiction, my favorite genre.

I enjoyed creating the MANGA so much that I would like to continue exhibiting MANGA works. Being able to actually go to New York City allowed me to get a feel for interacting with people from a completely different culture than that of Japan. I would like to use this opportunity to focus on overseas activities as well in the future.

Everything was a fresh experience—it was my first MANGA, my first time exhibiting in New York City, and my first time creating huge prints of my work. It was a wonderful experience that really pushed me in many ways. Thank you.

Re-evaluating life goals that we have not given up on

Masanobu Hiraoka:

When I heard about the background of this project, which was to find ways to expand on forms of expression in MANGA, I had the feeling that I could do something new.

My MANGA was about how an old man's encounter with a young man triggers him to re-evaluate his life and revisit goals that he had never really given up on. In the exhibition, I animated several frames to depict the potential beyond the frame.

This activity was different from what I usually do, and being able to create something from scratch through trial and error was a lot of fun. Since I usually work in animation, it was interesting to experiment with the different intervals of time, such as expressing in a single still frame what I would usually express through movement. I learned a lot and gained many ideas that may be valuable in producing future animations.

People who have suffered setbacks are strong

Miku Masuda:

I think it takes a lot of courage to tackle a dream you once gave up on, after having resigned yourself to simply live day by day without it. I wanted to express that same frustration in my work, and I drew it in the hope that someone would be encouraged by reading it, even if only a little.

I was a little worried about whether my work would be accepted overseas, but when I saw the visitors enjoying reading the MANGA at the exhibition, I immediately felt glad to have participated.

The opportunity for this job came at a time when I was thinking of working overseas someday, so "MANGA in New York" was a major undertaking for me. This exhibition in New York City opened the door for many people outside of Japan to see my work through social media, and some actually stopped by at events in Japan to buy my MANGA. I realized how happy I felt to have my work embraced across national borders.

Attempting to build something ourselves from scratch

millennium parade：

We were just thinking about initiating something overseas when we received this opportunity, so we are honestly happy that it became a reality.

Until now, our main focus has been on creative pursuits with music at the core. This project was an immense struggle to create something from scratch on a completely new stage—MANGA. With the help of various people, we managed to express ourselves in our own way.

The venue was not just an exhibition, but a space where visitors could experience the exhibits in an immersive way, and we think they enjoyed it intuitively.

We gained something significant from the fact that we were able to output our own worldview and expression in a form other than music. There are many things that we wish we could have done differently, or rather, things we did not realize until after the fact, but we would like to keep pushing forward without feeling afraid to take on different outputs like this in the future.