*This is a translated article by QooApp under the permission of SPICE. Reproduction in any form without permission is prohibited.
The Dorohedoro Original Art Exhibition Final opened its doors at Tokyo Dome City’s own Gallery AaMo highlighting Q Hayashida’s grotesque yet intriguingly absurd manga series Dorohedoro. Available from September 17 to October 16, the venue housed original arrays of art manuscripts, colored illustrations, and more.
Dorohedoro was a dark fantasy manga that started its run back in the year 2000. The manga had been serialized in four different manga magazines throughout its eighteen-year long-run, starting off in Shogakukan’s Monthly IKKI magazine first. Even after its conclusion in 2018, Hayashida’s unique take on the post-apocalyptic yet magic-imbued future has garnered many fans clamoring for what’s next from the author.
Entitled “Dorohedoro Original Art Exhibition FINAL ~The Worlds of Q Hayashida~”, the traveling art exhibition marks the fifth and last showing of the art behind Dorohedoro filled to the brim with additional pieces and key visuals showing off the creative process.
The exhibition featured around 60 color illustrations and 80 original manga manuscripts from Dorohedoro as well as Hayashida’s more recent work Dai Dark. We were able to get inside before the exhibition opened for the public, and were downright flabbergasted by the sheer depth and detail on display.
▍A Short Interview with Q Hayashida
Prior to the launch of the exhibition, we got to have some words with the mangaka, Q Hayashida herself. Here’s what she had to say…
Q. Tell us your genuine feeling going into having opened the final “Dorohedoro Original Art Exhibition” in Tokyo Dome.
It feels great having my own art exhibition at the home field of Kyojin (Yomiuri Giants) as a Hanshin (Hanshin Tigers) fan myself! The venues have gotten a lot bigger than the last time around and I got to have more content strung up as well. I practically had to empty out the storage of my studio for the occasion.
Q. The original art exhibition tour first began in 2020 at Shibuya and has garnered over 30,000 visitors in five separate venues. Any thoughts?
I’m glad that I went ahead with the idea of having the exhibition. I’m really grateful that so many people came to see it for themselves!
Q. The exhibition venue also had a message box for fans to send in their messages to you.
I went through all of them and I can’t thank my fans enough! It was nice to hear that they were pleasantly surprised with the new manga cover art that was on display. Not to mention people telling me how they visited the other exhibitions too.
Q. This new exhibition, including the newly added pieces holds 300+ of your own work. Is there a particular piece that you have a strong attachment to?
Definitely, any drawing that took a long time. I remember the cover page art for volumes 17 and 20 being of a larger caliber than I’m used to and taking more time getting it done. Other than that, I made it a point to take my time illustrating all of the cover pages for each chapter too.
Q. Lastly, is there anything you want to say to your fans who plan to visit this final exhibition?
I drew up a completely new poster art for this final exhibition and also recorded the illustration process so I can show it off as a video too. Other than that, this edition also features a lot more colored manuscripts for my ongoing Dai Dark manga as well. This exhibition’s going to be held for a month, so I hope anyone who’s missed their chance in the past two years gets the opportunity to really get a good look at what I have to show!
▍Key Visuals Teeming with Soul
One might consider, what exactly got a glow-up in this new triumphant exhibition? This notion immediately gets answered when visitors step inside the exhibit.
Greeting viewers upon entry is the newly drawn key visual for the art exhibition along with a projection screening of the drawing process of the artist that shows Q Hayashida’s intricate penwork and coloring, compiled into a 7-minute video.
When one examines the way she works, one can see how she quickly switches between different tools in one piece. Grabbing for a pen, brush, and even a pallet knife as she goes, the process seems more akin to an artist working on a painting rather than a manga. Something so simple as a patch of black in the final piece is revealed as a painstaking work of the artistic process, where Hayashida almost obsessively draws over the part employing all sorts of material.
As the video pans downwards to the bottom of the illustration, one can inspect that the puddle of brown mystery fluid on the ground even has texture to it, as the artist employed thick oil painterly layering to the part. Finally at the very bottom of the piece is the enigmatic Gyoza Fairy proudly standing in front of the two protagonists!
▍Practically drowning in Artwork
Moving along the entrance of the exhibit with the creative process video, we were awe-struck by what we saw next. There’re just SO MANY pieces to go through!
The Dorohedoro Original Art Exhibition houses artwork and manuscripts for Q Hayashida’s ongoing manga series Dai Dark, which is currently serialized on Monthly Shōnen Sunday, putting the count of artwork housed in the exhibition to a grand total of 413 pieces.
Of the 413 works on display, 60 colored manuscripts and 80 black & white manuscripts were newly added to this FINAL edition of the exhibition. As the gallery follows along the chronological order of publishing starting with the first volume of Dorohedoro, the exhibit is almost analogous to a literal memory lane for the 18-year spanning run of the manga series.
The glass cases on the walls also highlight the rough sketches by the artist.
Much to our surprise, a majority of the works being displayed had little snippets of comments from the artist herself chiming in with her creative inputs towards each piece. Going through all the explanatory panels and reading through Q Hayashida’s own personal thoughts alone would take hours with how many of the illustrations feature them.
Glancing through the colored illustration corner a single piece caught our eyes.
…Are those bandages?
▍It Feels Like Wandering in a Modern Art Museum
Next up let’s get into the much more distinct aspect of the artist’s illustrations. The collage technique is prevalent in many of the artworks. According to the descriptor on the wall, the characters and background for each piece are actually crafted separately. With two components that make up the whole as a work of mixed media collage, the background, in particular, strikes the eye.
The description text also posits that these real-life collage artworks are photographed and scanned to create the front pages for chapters or cover art for the manga’s tankōbon. The collages and their numerous textures sell us the evident intrigue and joy the artist took in crafting each piece. Being able to get up close to these intricate collage works in their three-dimensional form alone, constitutes one of the many reasons to visit the place.
▍Brushstrokes that Capture Life’s Intensities
The more traditional illustrations are striking to the visitor’s eyes just as much as the chaotic and unconventional collage works. From eye-catching detailed artworks to pieces that evoke unease with gore, the 413 different artworks all densely populate the gallery.
For example, we have here an illustration of Hayashida, who takes inspiration while playing a video game. To capture the blood-thrust scenes in the game, she made this piece in acute detail for grotesque viscera, as you could practically see the sheen and viscosity in the blood spilling out.
On the other hand, pencil drawings and works employing light ink show an almost serene, quieter perspective to the artist’s mind. A double-page spread (originally from volume 23) depicting a mountain of cadavers catches the eye in particular, with a small comment written by Hayashida mentioning how she wanted the scene to be something over the top and never-seen-before that would truly accentuate the climax of the final battle in the manga.
This is, of course, not to say that all of the art featured in the gallery is focused solely on death and gore. Here’s an adorable illustration of the protagonist’s partner Nikaido. This particular artwork is described by the placard as a drawing that the editors at HiBaNa chimed in on as to how much skin should be showing and what kind of pose she should be making!
▍Focusing on the Creative Process
Moving further into the gallery we hit up another video playing on a monitor display. The approximately 15-minute-long video shown is a compilation of Q Hayashida working on the main visual for the Dorohedoro Exhibition back in 2020.
A separate corner was also at the venue showing off the actual tools used in the creative process. Along with 20+ sketchbooks outlining the plot and world of the Hole are Hayashida’s own initial pitch and sketches that began it all as well. A compilation of these initial sparks behind the creation of Dorohedoro could even be purchased at the merch store present on-site under the Dorohedoro Original Art Sketchbook and Dorohedoro Sketchbook 2″
▍A Dedicated Area to Dai Dark
The final area of the exhibit is entirely dedicated to Dai Dark and its original manuscripts and illustrations. Of particular note, is the complete manuscript pages for chapter one of the newer manga series.
I personally haven’t had the luxury of reading an entire chapter of a manga in manuscript form. The raw presentation of the manga presents a unique way of experiencing the dark yet bizarrely humorous plot. Though presenting a different world and rule set, the newer manga shares many of the same quirks and charms fans have come to enjoy from Hayashida’s works.
The exhibition also showcases a newly added artwork for Dai Dark. The colored illustration sheds a spotlight on the four main characters from the manga with their palms reaching toward the viewer. According to the descriptor, this particular piece was created for the May issue of the Monthly Shōnen Sunday magazine. Five fingers outstretched, the fifth month of the year. Get it?
▍A One-And-Only Experience for Dorohedoro’s Fans
Capping off the exhibition-going experience is a quaint little message note, which allows you to leave your thoughts to the mangaka. Accompanying the booth’s small table is a specially drawn and signed illustration by Hayashida that has the protagonist Caiman exclaiming the words: “Thanks for Coming!” accompanied by Dai Dark’s Zaha Zanko and the mysterious Gyoza Fairy.
It was unconventional for a manga art exhibition of this caliber that doesn’t have a photo shooting spot. Despite this, the almost overwhelming amount of art on display accompanied by the detailed descriptions by the artist shows Hayashida’s laser-focused stoicism to display her gore-filled, grimy sub-version to the fantasy genre.
Dorohedoro Original Art Exhibition FINAL ~The Worlds of Q Hayashida~ exhibition runs from September 17 to October 16, 2022 at the Gallery AaMo in Tokyo Dome City of Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan.
▍Dorohedoro Original Art Exhibition Details
■ Period: September 17~ October 16, 2022 (30 days)
■ Business Hours: 12:00 ~ 18:00 (weekdays) / 11:00 ~ 19:00 (weekends)
■ Location: Gallery AaMo, Tokyo Dome City, (1-3-61 Kōraku, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo)
■ Admission Fee: Adult JPY$1,500/ College students JPY$1,300/ Middle School students JPY$1,000/ Merch Bundle Ticket JPY$2,200
■ Online Ticket sale period: August 19 (Fri) 11:00 ~
■ Official website: https://dorohedoro.gengaten.com/
■ Contacts: Tokyo Dome City Information Dial 03-5800-9999
Event organized by Tokyo Dome
Supported by: Traffic Promotion, Shogakukan
The original article was written by Mika Kosugi (小杉美香) and published by SPICE, which can be found here: https://spice.eplus.jp/articles/308278
