New Anime Art Joins the Franchise's Biggest Exhibit
The Tokyo run of "Ghost in the Shell: Ghost and the Shell" drew serious crowds at TOKYO NODE from January 30 through April 5, billing itself as the franchise's largest exhibition ever. Now the Kansai leg inherits that 1,600-plus-item archive — original manga pages, animation cels, production documents spanning Masamune Shirow's 1989 manga through every anime iteration — and expands on it.
The headline addition is a set of original production art from the new TV anime Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL, produced at Science SARU (Dan Da Dan, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off). That series premieres July 7 on Kansai TV and Fuji TV, just ten days before the exhibition opens its doors, making the Kansai run a natural companion piece for fans following the new adaptation.
Interactive Experiences Get an Upgrade
Several of the Tokyo show's interactive attractions return, with at least one notable change. "Analog-Dig" — the hands-on experience where visitors flip through reproduction "cut bags" (the physical envelopes used in traditional anime production) and take home the reproduction art they find inside — has had its per-person limit removed for the Kansai run. In Tokyo, attendees could only dig a fixed number of times; in Hyogo, you can keep going.
Two AR-driven experiences round out the interactive lineup. The "Laughing Man Mirror" uses AR and real-time programming to superimpose the Laughing Man's signature logo over visitors' faces — a selfie opportunity that practically markets itself. Meanwhile, "Cyber VISION" puts attendees in AR glasses for a guided tour alongside a Tachikoma, the franchise's beloved spider-tank AI. Cyber VISION requires a separate ticket (¥1,500 online via LivePocket, ¥1,700 at the door) and is limited in quantity.
Tickets and Pricing
General admission tickets went on sale today, May 21, 2026. Here's the breakdown:
- General admission (advance): ¥2,500 (~$16)
- General admission (door): ¥2,700 (~$18)
- High school / middle school (advance): ¥1,900
- Elementary school (advance): ¥1,200
- Tote bag bundle: ¥5,000 (Lawson Ticket exclusive)
- Reproduction film cel bundle: ¥2,800 (Lawson Ticket exclusive)
Standard tickets are available through Lawson Ticket, e+, Ticket Pia, Seven Ticket, and other major platforms, plus at the venue on the day. The special bundle tickets — the tote bag and the reproduction film cel — are Lawson Ticket exclusives, carrying over the same format from the Tokyo run.
Looking Ahead
The exhibition runs July 17 through August 30 at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art (Gallery Building 3F), with hours from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (last entry at 4:30 PM). The museum is closed on Mondays, or the following day when Monday falls on a holiday.
The timing puts this squarely alongside the new anime's broadcast window. Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL kicks off July 7 on the Ka-Anival!! late-night block (Tuesdays at 11 PM on Kansai TV/Fuji TV affiliates nationwide) and streams on Amazon Prime Video. International streaming details beyond Prime Video haven't been confirmed yet. The original Ghost in the Shell manga by Masamune Shirow is published in English by Kodansha USA and remains in print.