A Hiromasa Ogura watercolour painting for the Ghost in the Shell anime

London’s House of Illustration is to host Anime Architecture: Backgrounds of Japan, the first UK exhibition of illustrations for classic SF anime films, including the recently re-released Ghost in the Shell anime later this year.

Shown in Berlin last year, this is the UK’s first ever exhibition of handmade background illustrations for classic sci-fi anime films focuses on a selection of superb renderings of urban architecture made for the screen, featuring drawings for the films Patlabor (1989), Production I.G’s phenomenally influential film Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Ghost in the Shell 2 – Innocence (2004). It will present works by art director Hiromasa Ogura, director Mamoru Oshii, and concept artists Atsushi Takeuchi  and Takashi Watabe. These artists belong to a generation of illustrators who drew animation films almost only by hand.

This collection of artists, who share an interest in presenting convincing visions of future worlds, have had a defining influence on the style of anime we think of as typical today.

Included will be Hiromasa Ogura’s watercolour paintings for Ghost in the Shell, the anime epic that informed pioneering SF works such as The Matrix and Avatar. Inspired by Asia’s emerging megacities and based on photographs of Hong Kong, Ogura’s work depicts the striking contrast between a derelict Chinese town and ruthless urban development.

A collection of this art has been published, by Ghibli, but only in Japanese so far.

Atsushi Takeuchi, layout for Ghost in the Shell

Pencil drawings by Takashi Watanabe – one of the most important Japanese illustrators of his generation – for 2008’s sequel Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence will also feature. His meticulously realistic style has become a hallmark of Japanese anime films as a whole.

Art by Takashi Watabe for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

• Anime Architecture: Backgrounds of Japan” Exhibition | 26th May to 10th September 2017, 10.00am – 6.00pm House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross London N1C 4BH | Web: www.houseofillustration.org.uk

• What Anime Architecture Teaches Us About the Future of Cities

• Buy Ghost in the Shell from amazon.co.uk – using this link will help support downthetubes

With thanks to Richard Sheaf

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Art and Illustration, downthetubes News, Events, Exhibitions, Other Worlds

Tags: Atsushi Takeuchi, Concept Art, downthetubes News, Ghost in the Shell, Hiromasa Ogura, House of Illustration, Takashi Watabe