Events
Frieren and NANA: 40 Manga Drawings for the Meiji Anniversary
40 manga creators present new anniversary artwork, which is also viewable outside Japan on the official website.
For the 100th anniversary of Meiji Milk Chocolate, 40 manga creators have produced original illustrations for their works. These include Ai Yazawa with "NANA", Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe with "Frieren – Beyond Journey's End", and Tsukasa Hojo with "City Hunter". The drawings will be exhibited in Tokyo from December 23 to 30, 2026, and have already been accessible online since October 28.
From Touch and NANA to Frieren
The "Meiji Milk Chocolate 100th Anniversary Exhibition" brings together contributions spanning several decades of Japanese manga history. The participant list includes Mitsuru Adachi ("Touch"), Yoichi Takahashi ("Captain Tsubasa"), Yoko Kamio ("Hana Yori Dango"), Yana Toboso ("Black Butler"), Yuki Suetsugu ("Chihayafuru"), Tsubasa Yamaguchi ("Blue Period") and Norio Sakurai ("The Dangers in My Heart"), among others.
The artwork created specifically for the exhibition combines characters from the respective series with the chocolate anniversary. In addition to the drawings, the participants present personal congratulatory messages. The organizer Meiji already published the illustrations on its official website on October 28, so they can also be viewed outside Japan.
In addition to the manga section, works by 21 artists from painting, design and other fields are included. In total, more than 60 creators are taking part. The exhibition also features historical packaging, advertisements and a timeline of the brand's history since 1926.
Exhibition Dates and Admission in Tokyo
The exhibition opens on December 23, 2026 at the Tokyo International Forum, Hall E2, and closes on December 30. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; last entry is at 7 p.m. Advance ticket sales begin on October 29 at 10 a.m. Japan time. Tickets cost 500 yen in advance and 700 yen at the day counter. Talks with guests are also planned, with names and dates to follow later.
Thematically, the presentation is not an ordinary sales event: the original works, many of which are published for the first time by manga authors, are the real focus. Similar insights into the work behind drawn stories are offered by the Made in Abyss exhibition and the Fullmetal Alchemist anniversary exhibition. aninew.de has also reported on an anime camp for "Frieren" with 2,000 bookings.