This online exhibition is the third installment of the well-received ‘Manga Pandemic Web Exhibition’ series held previously in 2020 and 2021.
The theme of this exhibition is how we humans are facing the Coronavirus as it continues to spread around the world. To harness the unrestricted power of expression and international expansion of manga for this project we have sought submissions and published the artwork online.
In both the first and second installments, we received over 1000 artwork submissions from more than 300 manga enthusiasts, representing over 50 countries and regions around the world. The works ranged from single panels to story manga and visually depicted the ‘new normal’ with humor and satire. They also clearly highlighted the political and cultural differences of various countries and regions, including the ways in which they deal with infectious diseases.
For that reason, once again we would like to invite submissions on the theme of ‘pandemic’ for this third installment of the exhibition.
The Coronavirus disaster of the last few years is undoubtedly an historic event in human history. However how and when it will be resolved, and whether or not we have already transition into the ‘new normal’ remains uncertain. That is precisely why it is important to clearly record the condition and changes of people living during all this, for the purpose of looking back on history later. We confidently believe that manga is a suitable form of expression for this purpose, and that it can serve as a useful resource for capturing human history.
In addition, we are also inviting works on the theme of ‘peace’ this year.
In fact, the original theme of this project was ‘peace’. In this context, ‘peace’ not only refers simply to the ‘absence of war’, but also to the definition adopted by peace studies in recent years, being the ‘absence of violence.’ Also, within that definition ‘violence’ meaning that which ‘hinders the full flowering of human abilities’ (hunger; poverty; social discrimination; suppression of human rights; environmental destruction; delays in medical care, education and welfare; etc.) In other words, ‘violence’ exists in various forms in ‘our daily lives’ rather than ‘somewhere in the world’.
The setting for this ‘Manga Pandemic Web Exhibition’ was that Coronavirus may be causing such violence to spread worldwide. However, since the beginning of this year, a very direct act of violence – a ‘war’ – has unfolded before our very eyes. Therefore, in a sense of returning to the original intentions of the project, we have decided to directly add ‘peace’ as another theme.
Both ‘pandemic’ and ‘war’ are historical world events. What can manga do to address the issues faced by humanity? We would like to explore that possibility together with you all.
As in previous years, the organizers will be responsible for judging the acceptance of submissions and may reject works that contain expressions of anti-human rights or defamation of specific individuals or nations. However, we look forward to receiving diverse works based on your free-spirited and creative ideas.
In addition, this exhibition is not only an online gallery to display the artwork, but also functions as a ‘database’ of artwork. Unless the executive committee determines it to be ‘exceptional commercial use’, submitted works will continue to be used free of charge to expand manga culture, for which we thank you in advance for your understanding.
And finally, this exhibition is open to anyone from all over the world, regardless of nationality or age, and inclusive of both professionals and amateur artists. Please take this opportunity to send us your work with ‘manga fever’. We organizers are looking forward to hearing from you.

Examples by Shiriagari Kotobuki

[Theme: pandemic] ベテラン？（2022.9.28）

[Theme: pandemic] 最近の名前（2022.9.28）

[Theme: pandemic ＋peace] 戦う相手（2022.9.28）

[Theme: pandemic ＋peace] 今、ベッドは？（2022.9.28）