Manga Barcelona unveils 30th edition Sagrada Família poster by Naoki Urasawa
Takeshi Kawaguchi and Yuki Tabata among special guests announced for December event
Manga Barcelona has unveiled its 30th anniversary poster, created by Naoki Urasawa, the popular Japanese artist behind 'Monster', '20th Century Boys' and 'Pluto'.
The poster features some of Urasawa's best-loved characters in front of Barcelona's Sagrada Família.
Urasawa will be the guest of honor at this year's Manga Barcelona, which takes place from December 5 to 8 at Fira Barcelona's Gran Via venue.
Other guests announced on Wednesday include Takeshi Kawaguchi, author of ' Fate/Grand Order -turas réalta- ', and Yuki Tabata, author of ' Black Clover'.
Manga Barcelona is preparing an exhibition that aims to collect memories and experiences from the public of the last thirty years of the fair.
The exhibition will take the form of an otaku room full of memories, organizers announced on Wednesday, saying: "We will make a call for everyone to participate."
Signing up for a party
Naoki Urasawa is one of the most significant manga authors today. Since his debut in 1983, he has created memorable stories and iconic works such as Yawara!, Monster, Happy! and 20th Century Boys, among others.
Having a guest of honor "of the caliber and trajectory" of Urasawa is "more than a dream come true," the director general of Ficomic, Meritxell Puig, said at a media event unveiling this year's poster.
They wanted the poster to reflect the idea that everyone is signing up for a party with the images of Urasawa's characters, Puig said.
Manga Festival
Some of the guests for this year's edition were already announced in July.
Together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan as well as Japanese publishers (and the support of Spanish publishers), Manga Barcelona has created Manga Festival, an initiative that brings together eight manga authors to visit the Catalan capital: Kamome Shirahama (Witch Hat Atelier), Yuka Fujikawa (Mushoku Tensei), Aka Akasaka (Oshi no Ko), Mengo Yokoyari (Oshi no Ko), Shinichi Ishizuka (Blue Giant), Number 8 (Blue Giant), Juan Albarrán (Matagi Gunner) Agasawa Kocha (You and I Are Polar Opposites).
They will be accompanied by an exhibition of shikishi by the authors, the typical sheets used in Japan to sign autographs.
Music and cosplay
In music, an appearance by Psychic Fever, winner of the 'Next Generation Global' prize in 2022, has also been announced.
The 30th edition fair will also feature the current winners of the World Cosplay Summit 2024, a Japanese duo: Mioshi and Mamemayo. Fooly Cosplay, Barcelona natives Miquel Candela and Víctor Fernández, will also appear.