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Live London Talks With Manga Artists Moto Hagio and Gengoroh Tagame

Japan House London, on Kensington High Street, has announced two live events with major manga artists: Moto Hagio and Gengoroh Tagame. Both events are free, but booking is essential at the respective links.

The Moto Hagio event (pictured right) is called "It's A Girls' World: Talk on Shojo Manga with Artist HAGIO Moto and Editor FURUKAWA Asako" and can be booked here. It is on Monday May 20 from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., followed by a drinks reception.

Moto Hagio was once described by ANN's Lynzee Loveridge as a woman who changed manga history, and her works include the early shōnen-ai manga The Heart of Thomas and sci-fi titles including They Were Eleven and Otherworld Barbara. The event is described as follows:

"The special evening features one of the foremost and most beloved artists of shojo manga, HAGIO Moto. One of a group of innovative female manga artists who came to prominence in the 1970s, Hagio Moto and her peers are credited with pioneering many of the developments that have come to define modern shojo manga and transformed it into the wide-ranging and highly popular genre it is today, experimenting with content and style and developing new subgenres including shonen-ai (stories featuring love between boys).

"Hagio will be joined in conversation with editor FURUKAWA Asako who will provide a special behind-the-scenes perspective on the role of the editor in the collaborative, fast-paced and complex manga industry."

The Gengoroh Tagame event is called "‘My Brother’s Husband’: Manga Artist TAGAME Gengoroh in Conversation with Book Curator HABA Yoshitaka" (pictured left) and can be booked here. It is on Wednesday May 22 from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., followed by a drinks reception. The event is described as follows:

"Celebrating the opening of our new library display ‘LGBTQ+: Diversity in Manga’, book curator HABA Yoshitaka is joined in conversation with renowned manga artist TAGAME Gengoroh to discuss his ground-breaking work ‘My Brother’s Husband’.

"An author of dozens of graphic novels and stories translated into multiple languages, ‘My Brother’s Husband’ is Tagame's first title for all ages. Beautifully illustrated, the series is a moving, complex and often heart-breaking depiction of the struggle for gay acceptance in contemporary Japan. Critically acclaimed both domestically and internationally, it has earned Tagame multiple awards including the Japan Media Arts Award for Outstanding Work of Manga from The Agency of Cultural Affairs."

These two events are connected to a free exhibition at Japan House London called "LGBTQ+: Diversity in Manga", which will run from May 22 to August 31. It is described as follows:

"This display explores the various ways in which gender and sexuality are portrayed in Japanese manga culture.

Exhibited works include ‘the god of manga’ TEZUKA Osamu's 'Princess Knight' (Ribon no Kishi) which depicts a cross-dressing female knight; and pieces from the shōnen-ai genre (also known as ‘Boys Love’ or ‘BL’), a category featuring romantic relationships between young male characters developed by mangaka including HAGIO Moto, TAKEMIYA Keiko and OSHIMA Yumiko, pioneering artists of shōjo manga ('girls comics'). Also on display are modern works by YOSHINAGA Fumi and KUMOTA Haruko who are known for working in a variety of genres including 'Boys Love', and whose works have been strongly influenced by TAKEMIYA Keiko's ground-breaking 'Kaze to Ki no Uta' manga, first published in the 1970s."

Parental guidance is advised for visitors under 16 due to what the website describes as "potentially explicit/graphic material."

In addition, Japan House London will be running a free exhibition entitled "This is Manga – the Art of Urasawa Naoki", from June 5 to July 28. (As mentioned on ANN previously, there will be a live talk with the artist on June 5, but this is already sold out.)

According to the exhibition's press release:

"This retrospective exhibition will introduce Urasawa's ideas from inception through development, with more than 400 original drawings and storyboards on display. Selected stories from seven of his major works will be presented, highlighting the breadth of the artist's narrative styles. There'll even be a reading corner with full English translations of his bestselling stories.

"And, through changing displays, four consecutive stories from 'Yawara!' (pictured right) will be presented over the course of the exhibition, one story every two weeks, encouraging you to return again and again to experience the work in the weekly serial style of many Japanese comic anthologies."