The 22nd edition of Japan Expo will be held from July 13th to 16th at the Paris-Nord Villepinte exhibition center. This year’s manga guest of honor is Tsukasa Hôjô, the author of the famous “Cat’s Eyes” and “Nicky Larson” (“City Hunter”).
The Japan Expo is one of the most important Japanese pop culture events in Europe. Mangas, anime, video games, music, culture, crafts, sports… There is something for everyone. This year almost 400 artists of all disciplines are expected and more than 900 exhibitors will be present. In 2022, the festival gathered 240,000 visitors on 140,000 m² with 950 exhibitors and 560 events. The Friday was even sold out, a first in the history of the event.
Manga, webtoon and anime guests
Many authors will be present (Horimiya © HERO (c) Hagiwara Daisuke / Square Enix CO., LTD; City Hunter © Tsukasa Hôjô / Coamix; Love Hina © Ken Akamatsu)
Tsukasa Hôjô, mythical author in particular of Cat’s Eye and City Hunter (Nicky Larson in France), will therefore be the manga guest of honor. This year is a bit of its own year as a TF1 sponsored live series “Cat’s Eye” as well as a live series “City Hunter” will be released in Japan. The Japan Expo is offering a selection of twenty fine art prints by this author for sale. He will be present at conferences and autograph sessions.
Another big manga name present at the festival is Ken Akamatsu, the author of Love Hina or Negima, who was elected to the Japanese Parliament in 2022.
Other authors will also be in attendance including: Katarina and Ryôsuke Fuji, authors of Shangri-La Frontier; Yu Itô, author of the manga Shut Hell; Hagiwara Daisuke, designer of the romantic comedy Horimiya (in the youth selection at the last Angoulême Festival). Among the French authors in attendance will be: Tony Valente, creator of Radiant; Zilo (DreaMaker); and Loui (red flowers).
On the webtoon page: Míriam Bonastre Tur (Hooky, recently published in paper by Dupuis); ran (Because I can’t love you); Prince Rours (Storm); Chief Otaku (Arena); and Lee Kwang Eun (Pick Me Up!).
A webtoon café is opened: the baristas offer their customers webtoon reading titles in addition to their advice on strong coffees. On the anime side, fans have the opportunity to meet Keiichi Ichikawa, animation director of Saint Seiya: Hades Chapter and animation supervisor of the One Piece TV series since 2017. Joining him is animation director Eisaku Inoue, who also worked on Knights of the Zodiac and One Piece.
Indispensable for synchronous fans
Actress Brigitte Lecordier (legendary voice of Goku and Gohan in Dragon Ball, Oui-Oui or even Boji in Ranking of Kings) invited other actors to a public reading of the webtoon Pick me Up! invited.
Brigitte Lecordier (© Piccoma)
A manga district
Online reading platform Mangas.Io has partnered with several Asian manga and comic publishers to create a veritable manga village at Japan Expo. On an area of 180 m², the various publishers offer activities, book signings and much more. Notably, Le Quartier Manga is sponsored by Rakuten. Therefore, the payment method Rakuten Pay is accepted and offers all visitors €5 for their first purchase in the village.
Conferences, exhibitions, culture
During the festival, a conference tribute will be held in honor of Leiji Matsumoto, a major author who passed away this year. Of course, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of this title by Osamu Tezuka, one exhibition will be dedicated to Tsukasa Hôjô and another to the manga Black Jack.
As every year, a large part of the festival is dedicated to Japanese culture through handicrafts, sports, tourism and cuisine. Many stands offer demonstrations.
Music
Almost 70 concerts and showcases (Yoshiki © artistimage; Vicke Blanka © Avex; © ChocoLate Bomb!!)
Vicke Blanka is the other guest of honor at Japan Expo. This is the first time that the singer, who sang the openings “Black Rover” and “Black Catcher” from the anime Black Clover, is performing in France.
Numerous artists will be present and 68 concerts and showcases will be offered. There will also be cosplay, dance or theater shows, martial arts performances and of course anime performances.
The Outside the Walls Festival
This year the Japan Expo will also be held outside of Paris-Nord Villepinte with the “Manga Week” created by Mangas.io, which will take place and be launched from July 13th to 20th. The interactions will be virtual and real. About 10 establishments on Rue Sainte-Anne in Paris’s Opéra district offer exclusive dishes and the opportunity to go home with a few gifts.
Video Games and V-Tubers
Producer Hiroshi Matsuyama from publisher CyberConnect2, a studio known for its video game adaptations of Naruto, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Dragon Ball, will be present at Japan Expo. He comes to Paris with the intention of hiring a European employee!
There will be people at the video game publisher Hoyoverse’s booth to see Honkai Star Rail and try to collect some coveted fan goodies. This will also be the case at the stand dedicated to the mobile game Goddess of Victory: NIKKE.
The Return of Tamagotchi! Publisher Namco-Bandai is making another attempt to re-launch their Tamagotchi with a new version called Tamagotchi: Uni! It can take the form of a watch or a pendant and, thanks to the brand new Tamaverse, has a WiFi connection and the possibility of downloading additional content.
V-Tubers, eccentric avatars who typically present streamed video content, are given pride of place at the festival. Thanks to partner Nijisanji, no less than ten V-Tubers will be present at Japan Expo.