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Trip to Japan 2012

François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters visited several cities in Japan in November 2012 to celebrate the release of the second volume of Obscure Cities albums translated in Japanese. The attended several conferences and met several anime comic artists.

Benoit Peeters published daily images on his facebook account and are used in this summary.

November 16th

Visit with ShoPro the editor of the Obscure Cities in Japan. ShoPro has released two volumes with Obscure Cities albums:

Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten also visited the Japanese Trainmuseum, where François Schuiten could get some ideas for the design of Train World in Schaerbeek that he helps to design.

November 17th

At November 17, there was a conference at the University of Gakushuin, Tokyo about the “perception of the body in comics”. Benoît Peeters held a presentation about Töpffer and François Schuiten, Benoît Peeters and Katsuhiro Otomo had a public discussion together.

Visit with Katsuhiro Otomo at the University of Gakushuin, Tokyo. Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi. Katsuhiro Otomo used a vehicle in his manga Steamboy that looked liked a Alaxian Velocipede.

November 18th

Visit to the first edition of the Kaigai Manga Festa 1) with a lively debat with Naoki Urasawa 2).

François Schuiten was filmed while making a drawing. Benoît Peeters gives his comments on the process 3).

The end result of this session is a very nice drawing of 12.004 and Leon van Bel of the 12 La Douce album.

November 19th

How do we imagine the ideal city? How do we expand the possibilities of the city?

Toyo Ito joins Yokohama urban planner Masaharu Nakahara in a discussion with François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, authors of the Belgian comic book series “Cities of the Fantastic.” Moderated by architect and author of Tokyo Portraits & Fictions Manuel Tardits 4).

This discussion on Utopian Cities took place in the Institut Français in Tokyo.5)

Images of the discussion and reception at the Institut Français, with the Japanese editors and Sekizumi Kaoru, who is responsible for the graphical adaption of the Obscure Cities albums in Japan. Images by Sekizumi Kaoru

November 20th

Images of the trip to Fukuoka. With a visit of the Komijozenji Temple and an exposition of paintings by Dürer, Vermeer and Rembrandt.

November 21st

Last interviews with journalists of the magazines “Eureka” and “SF”.

Photos op the last night in Japan.

Images by Sekizumi Kaoru

See also