This online exhibition is the fifth installment of the well-received Manga Pandemic Web Exhibition series held every year since 2020.

The theme of this exhibition is how we humans are facing the Coronavirus as it continues to spread around the world. The project began as a completely online submission and exhibition platform, to leverage the unrestricted power of expression and international expansion of manga.
Over the past four installments, we have received a total of over 3528 artwork submissions from 847 groups, representing 175 countries and regions around the world. In terms of genre, the works have ranged widely from single panels to story manga, and thematically they have shed light on the realities and differences in the politics and culture of various countries and regions, while visually representing the ‘new normal’ and ‘intensifying violence’ with humor and satire.

In Japan, the law was revised in April of 2023, and Coronavirus was reclassified as equivalent to “a new strain of influenza or similar infectious disease”, which led to the easing of various restrictions, making it appear as if daily life had returned to normal. However, this does not mean that the number of infections has decreased.
Therefore, for a 5th time, we would once again like to invite submissions on the theme of ‘pandemic’ for a new installment of the exhibition.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has yet to be fully resolved, is undoubtedly an event that will remain in human history. Documenting the circumstances and changes in peoples’ lives through this period will be valuable work for future historical reflection. We firmly believe that manga is a suitable medium for this purpose, which can serve as a useful resource for documenting human history.

In addition, we are once again inviting works on the theme of ‘peace’ this time.
In fact, the original theme of this project was ‘peace’. In this context, ‘peace’ not only refers simply to the ‘absence of war’, but rather to the definition adopted by peace studies in recent years, being the ‘absence of violence.’ And within that definition, ‘violence’ refers to 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’ does not exist ‘somewhere in the world’, but in ‘our daily lives’ in various forms.

The original premise of the Manga Pandemic Web Exhibition was that Coronavirus may be spreading such violence worldwide. However, since February 2022, the ultimate act of violence – a ‘war’ – between Ukraine and Russia has unfolded before our very eyes.
Therefore, in a sense returning to the original intentions of this project, we decided to add ‘peace’ as another theme in 2023.
However, since October 2023, conflict has also escalated between Palestine and Israel, and we are facing an international situation in which the cycle of violence is becoming increasingly unstoppable.

Both ‘pandemic’ and ‘war’ are historical world events. What can manga do to address the issues faced by humanity? We hope to explore these possibilities and challenges 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, etc.
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 promote manga culture, for which we thank you in advance for your understanding.

And finally, we would like to reiterate that this exhibition is open to anyone from all over the world, regardless of nationality or age, and inclusive of both professional and amateur artists. Please take this opportunity to send us your work with ‘manga fever’. We organizers are looking forward to receiving your unrestrained and diverse manga.

Manga Pandemic Web Exhibition 2024 Executive Committee