A Studio Retrospective Built From Real Production Paper
Japanese anime news site Anime Anime toured the exhibition at its press preview, and the photo report makes one thing clear: this is not a wall of printed panels. Many of the key animation sheets on display are the actual hand-drawn paper used in production.
Visitors are greeted by a large video installation styled after a bank of old CRT televisions, cycling through familiar MAPPA scenes. Past the gate is the first area, titled "Various Stories," which gathers design documents and key animation from 20 titles.
The lineup spans the studio's whole history: Kids on the Slope, Teekyu, Terror in Resonance, Yuri!!! on Ice, In This Corner of the World, Kakegurui, Banana Fish, Zombie Land Saga, Dorohedoro, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill, Vinland Saga Season 2, Hell's Paradise, Maboroshi, Bucchigiri?!, Oblivion Battery, the 2024 Ranma 1/2 TV series, the Inazuma Eleven theatrical film, Lazarus, the Rose of Versailles film, and Zenshu.
Each corner is different. The In This Corner of the World display pairs character and background design sheets with a chart of how heroine Suzu spends a typical day, plus a message from director Sunao Katabuchi written for the exhibition. Yuri!!! on Ice shows the storyboard for the first episode's opening scene alongside a making-of video, so you can see how those boards became finished footage. The Rose of Versailles corner has key animation and character visuals of Oscar, Marie Antoinette, André, and Fersen, plus costume design sheets for Oscar and Antoinette.
Some displays go beyond drawings. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill gets a panel walkthrough of how special effects were layered onto the curry from episode 21, "Orc Meat Home Curry," with an explainer on how the show makes its food look appetizing, and a life-size figure of Sui the slime sits in a glass case. The Inazuma Eleven film corner displays an actual soccer ball. Kakegurui pairs a still from Season 1, episode 2 (Itsuki Sumeragi's fingernail collection) with a case holding the real prop nails.
According to MAPPA staff on site, the contents of each corner were worked out in consultation with the producer of each title. The footprint per work is modest, but the report says each one feels true to its show.
Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Chainsaw Man Get Their Own Rooms
The Attack on Titan The Final Season area starts with panels, design documents, and video material, then opens into a three-dimensional installation of the Rumbling. Video, sound, and giant sculptures depict the Founding Titan advancing with countless Colossal Titans. From there the mood flips to a quiet exhibit called "How the Scenery of That Hill Was Made," which focuses on background art. Paints, brushes, and in-progress pieces are laid out so visitors can see how backgrounds get built.
The Jujutsu Kaisen area opens with a newly drawn visual of Nobara Kugisaki and is heavy on documents and footage. Its centerpiece is a 3D piece titled "Yuji Itadori, Cycling Memories": Itadori slumps alone on a train seat while scenes from the series play in the window behind him. There is also a recreation of Gojo's room. Anime Anime warns that this section alone is roughly a small exhibition's worth of material, so budget your time.
The final area covers the Chainsaw Man movie, Reze Arc, and a Chainsaw Man figure bursting through the wall meets you at the entrance. The room is laid out chronologically, with design art and scripts arranged in story order and 3D set pieces such as the phone booth where Denji and Reze meet and a life-size Bomb. The lighting shifts with the film: bright at the start, red-black once the mid-film battle hits, and pale for the final scene. Smaller props include the menu from Reze's café and the flower Denji eats.
The shop at the exit centers on the three headline works but also stocks other titles and MAPPA-logo goods. The full product list is on the official site. The reporter's pick was the ticket-style clear cards printed with key animation. They are blind-packed but sorted by title, so you at least know which show you are getting.
Looking Ahead
The exhibition runs through December 7, 2026 at YURAKUCHO MUSEUM, in the basement of the Tokyo International Forum in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is split into two periods, September 16 to October 25 and October 28 to December 7, with the venue closed October 26 and 27. The organizers say some exhibits will rotate between the two periods, though which ones has not been specified.
Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with last entry at 5:00 p.m. General admission is ¥2,000 in advance or ¥2,200 at the door, and tickets are date-and-time-slotted. Actor and musician Non, who voiced Suzu in In This Corner of the World, serves as the exhibition's ambassador.
No venues outside Tokyo have been announced. For fans planning a trip, the Anime Anime report notes that the whole show doubles as a primer on how anime is actually made, from storyboard to background painting to effects work.