Manga artists, publishers contribute during 'Comic Festival in Tōhoku' recovery event
A group of seven manga and anime creators are appearing on Saturday at the Sendai International Center in Miyagi Prefecture, an area heavily affected by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake disaster. The purpose of the "Comic Festival in Tōhoku" event is to support recovery efforts in the quake-hit Tōhoku region.
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Mobile Suit Gundam), Norifusa Mita (Dragon Zakura), Ranjō Miyake (Imuri), Aruto Asaka (Aki no Douwa), Kimidori Inoue (Kanashii Ningyo-hime), Masahiko Kikuni (Heartbroken Angels), and Hideo Shinanogawa (Virtus) are speaking at the event.
Asaka and Inoue are residents of the Tōhoku, and Mita is from the region's Iwate Prefecture. Kikuni, Shinanogawa, and Miyake are speaking about their involvement with the charity comic app Bokura no Manga (Our Manga). Representatives from the editorial departments at the Koudansha and Shogakukan publishing companies who distribute the creators' works will also attend.
An exhibition of illustrated messages from about 500 manga artists will be held at the Sendai AER building on Saturday and Sunday. Another part of the exhibit will display 22 new manga artists' personal experiences in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Until the end of January, people who buy select items from bookstores collaborating with event will receive one of ten special postcards with images from popular manga. Represented manga will include Yasuhiko's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Gosho Aoyama's Case Closed (Detective Conan), and Chika Umino's March comes in like a lion. Purchasers will be eligible to receive one of 500 special prizes selected in a lottery.
Image © Comic Festival in Tōhoku
