The five things you cannot miss about Manga Barcelona

The organizers know well that bringing a Japanese author to Manga Barcelona can take months of negotiations. The evolution of the pandemic in Japan, where the situation is much worse than in Spain and with lower vaccination rates, has prevented them from coming in person but there will be streaming connections with some of their stars: the author of ‘My broken Mariko’Hirako Waka (Monday 1) and that of ‘Hei no naka no biyoshitsu’ Kohinata Marco (Saturday 30). But those who will leave the flag high are the Spanish authors that they will be in person. Among them stands out Kenny Ruiz, who with a 20-year career behind him is succeeding in the Japanese market, in the magazine ‘Tezucomi’, reinterpreting ‘The legend of Son Goku’, the work of Osamu Tezuka, the God of Manga, about whom Ruiz will speak in one of the essential talks (Sunday 31). Other guests are Jimi Macias (‘Intransextellar’), Jorge Arranz (‘Another Japan’), Eric Lent (‘SpaceDrum’), Marta Coca and José Luís Maravall (‘Threason’) o Wade Otaku y Drawill (‘Blood Moon’).

Also the young authors of the posters of the last two editions, Carles Dalmau (from this 2021) and Laia Lopez (from the 2020 virtual show) will star in a free meeting (it is necessary to fill out the form) with fans (Saturday 30), with signatures included, at Casa Seat, on Passeig de Gràcia, one of the new spaces this year (where, also there will be, on Friday afternoon, a talk with the winners of this year’s awards, which will be known in the morning in the Auditorium of the Montjuïc venue).

To know how will the city be in the future? It will be necessary to listen to the popularizer Oriol Estrada, responsible for the contents of the show, who on Saturday 30 (at Casa Seat, with free access by completing the form) will give a talk about how manga and anime have tried to imagine the future since the 50s and what we can learn from them going forward. Knowing the Japan of the 50s, where great ‘mangakas’ such as Osamu Tezuka or Shotaro Ishinomori were formed, will be possible in a connection with the Tokiwa-so Museum, today disappeared but reborn as the Manga Museum (Friday). Diversity of topics will be discussed in various talks, including the sport and manga from ‘Oliver and Benji’ or ‘bullying’ (both on Friday) or, on Saturday, on mental health in the manga, the 50 years of the superhero Kamen Rider or the anime in Catalan.

Cosplay contests (the ‘cosplayer’ Geheichou will talk on Sunday about styling, makeup and photography), of karaoke, exhibitions of ‘idols’, K-Pop music and choreography& mldr; and, above all, in the Great Stage (which will not be in the Plaza del Univers as on previous occasions but in one of the pavilions), the performances of Victory me (Saturday and Sunday), RUKI (Saturday), the first Spanish Anisong genre singer to debut under a Japanese label, and Bunny Kaisui (Monday), in addition to concerts by traditional japanese music con Hibiki Ichikawa y Luke de Denshonen (domingo y lunes).

In the Auditorium, like a Japanese and anime movie theater, there will be several daily screenings. One of them is ‘Belle ‘, the film that Mamoru Hosoda presented at the recent Sitges Film Festival and which can be seen in the living room before its premiere in theaters (it is the only paid film, at 4.5 euros, and at the time of publishing this article there are still a hundred tickets available ). Films such as ‘Spirited Away’, a Studio Ghibli Classic turning 20, the renowned debut of Junta Yamaguchi ‘Beyond the two infinite minutes’, the first two episodes of the popular anime series ‘Tokyo Revengers’ or the timely short film by Borja Crespo’Hikikomori’, where he mixes the ‘otaku’ world with the experience of confinement in a pandemic. For those who want to stay hooked on the screen for a few more days, thanks to an agreement with of the movie The platform offers until November 7 a ‘pack’ of films (10.95 euros).

The Japan Experience space will once again offer workshops the most diverse: to learn to write or speak japanese or to practice calligraphy, Martial Arts And till lightsaber fights. You can also share the experience of To draw manga with the artists of the Joso school and enjoy a ‘battle’ between artists, who will compete drawing. And there will be no shortage of the always crowded Nihon Ryori gastronomic section, with Roger Ortuño again in charge, which will overflow with recipes, chefs and ramen eating competitions.