MangaDive is one of the coolest new ways to experience manga, and we have the inside scoop on what it is, and how to get tickets.
Highlights
- MangaDive in Tokyo offers a digital, immersive manga experience, combining art, museum, and movie elements for a new way to experience manga.
- The experience takes place in a 360-degree cinema using projection mapping, bringing scenes from famous manga to life with partial animation while maintaining the original manga style.
- Although dialogue is in Japanese only, MangaDive is tourist-friendly with an English website, English reservations, and English signs. The experience is accessible even for international fans who cannot read Japanese well.
GAMERANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
As tourism returns to Japan in full force, there are more anime and otaku events happening than ever, which is good news for the locals as well as tourists visiting the country. One of the newest and unique things to open in Tokyo is MangaDive, a digital, immersive manga experience. It takes fans and puts them inside the manga through a total sensory experience.
MangaDive opened in Shinjuku, the heart of Tokyo, at the end of July and is running through the end of August. It is something between an art exhibition, a museum, and a movie, combing elements of all three to let people experience manga in a new way. Reservations can be made online, and walk-ins are also accepted when there is space. The whole experience takes about thirty minutes, so there are plenty of showings each day.
MangaDive uses the new technology of projection mapping to bring manga to life. The experience is takes place in a 360 degree cinema, with the action happening on all four walls as well as the floor! MangaDive takes scenes from famous manga and partially animates them, while still keeping their original manga style – mostly black and white, and with the manga’s original art, not the anime’s.
While there is no spoken dialogue in MangaDive, there is plenty of music and sound effects to help bring the manga alive for the audience. All the dialogue, staying true to the original manga source material, is done in the form of speech bubbles. These speech bubbles are all in Japanese only, which is the only stumbling block for international fans who cannot read or understand Japanese well. But if you are there to see a scene from a manga you already know, you can still enjoy the experience without needing to read the story as it unfolds.
Other than the dialogue boxes, MangaDive is tourist-friendly. The website has an English version available, and reservations can be made in English via the website. Additionally, the rules are also shared in English before entering, and all the special merchandise has English signs. If you are nervous about not being able to read the manga as it plays out in front of you, don’t let that hold you back from visiting MangaDive as everything else is very accessible!
MangaDive opened featuring Chainsaw Man and Dandadan, and from the middle of August, Spy x Family was added as well. Each story has a show that lasts about ten minutes, bringing a different part of that manga to the 360 degree screen. Spy x Family showed the “Bond Arc,” telling the story of how the dog Bond joined the Forger family. Chainsaw Man featured “Chainsaw Man vs. Samurai Sword,” bringing the battle to life. And finally, Dandadan was a compilation introducing the main characters and showing some of their most memorable moments in the story.
MangaDive came with a warning before entering that some of the contents would be disturbing, and viewers were told they could raise their hand at any time to be taken away if they needed to be. It was a solid warning, as the material from Chainsaw Man and Dandadan was violent, and at times scary for anyone faint-hearted. MangaDive is not appropriate for children or people who are sensitive to darkness, loud sounds, or violent and gory images.
After the show is finished, there is a small shop with exclusive goods from each of the three featured stories. There were special T-shirts and tote bags, smaller keychains and stickers, and incredible acrylic stands of manga panels. These acrylic stands could be scanned with your phone, which activated AR technology that created a 3D video on your phone of that part of the MangaDive show in your own home! Additionally, each ticket came with an AR activated coaster, again bringing a character to life on your phone using that technology.
Tickets for MangaDive are ¥1600 per person ($11 USD), which is almost the same cost as a movie ticket in Japan. However, even though the show is only 30 minutes long, you get a much more unique experience than a normal movie theater provides. For manga fans or even fans of any of these anime, MangaDive is something totally new and fun to do. Right now, no other stories have been announced to be held at future events, but hopefully, we can continue to see MangaDive popping up in the future with new manga, and new experiences.
Official Website: MangaDive
Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime
