Archipel will host Archipel Caravan 2023, a celebration of Japan’s pop culture centered around its creators, from December 15 to 17 at Institut Francais de Tokyo.

The event will feature the following sessions:

(All times are Japan Standard Time.)

December 15

• 19:00 to 21:00 – Kenji Eno Documentary Premiere – Behind game titles such as D or Enemy Zero, Kenji Eno is a creator who was one step ahead in pushing the boundaries of storytelling in the game medium, influencing many people throughout his career. Commemorating the 10 years since his sudden passing in 2013, we will premiere a documentary gathering testimonials from people who were close to him, starting with his wife Yuka Iino, creators such as Hideo Kojima, Fumito Ueda, and artists such as Pierre Taki or Tadanobu Asano. The documentary will include English subtitles. Two screening sessions will be followed by a talk event with unique guests, while a special exhibition will be held throughout the duration of the event, featuring Eno’s past games, photographs, books, and more.

December 16

• 10:30 to 12:00 – Baron Yoshimoto Talk – Baron Yoshimoto is a frontman of the Japanese manga scene, whose work channel the eruption of the “Gekiga” movement from the 1960s, including key works such as Jukyoden. Still fiercely active at the age of 83, his strokes go beyond time, expressing a deep sense of aesthetics that he’s nurtured over the years, mixing both sensuality and stoicism. This exhibition will curate artworks from manga works created through his career of more than 60 years. Furthermore, a special talk will be held to capture his journey in the industry, alongside his future objectives. The talk will be monitored by Sansuke Yamada, one of Baron Yoshimoto’s most erudite followers and editor of his 2017 “Baron Yoshimoto Gakyoden Artwork Archives” (Leed Publishing). Sansuke Yamada is a manga artist himself, who representative work Areyo Hoshikazu has been awarded in 2019 with both the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize and the Grand Prize at the Japan Cartoonists Association Awards. With several works translated overseas, he’s a key player on the frontlines of the industry.
• 13:00 to 14:30 – Mai Yoneyama x Shingo Tamagawa Talk – Mai Yoneyama started her career as an animator at GAINAX, with her work currently spanning between animation, illustration, modern art and work for the video & game industry. As she keeps pursuing new modes of expression, her works are filled with “beauty and surprise,” earning her a “virtuoso” status. As a key artist of the new generation, her works collect attention from both Japan and overseas. As a director, she is behind YOKU (2022) and the ending for the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners series. While working as an animator and animation director for Sunrise, Shingo Tamagawa is known for his short animation PUPARIA (2020), which he single-handedly created over the course of three years. Claiming that “animation starts with a single drawing,” Tamagawa’s dense and powerful artworks capture the viewer at each instant. As a newly rising artist, many expectations are held towards his future works. As two creators of the new generation, Yoneyama and Tamagawa will discuss their unique takes on universe building, creative approach and methods.
• 15:30 to 18:00 – Kenji Eno Documentary Screening and Talk
• 17:00 to 18:00 – Saori Kobayashi Live Performance – After working on sound creation at SEGA, Saori Kobayashi has pursued music composition in the game industry. Her compositions share a common platform based on the “Wa” Japanese concept, with works spreading across multiple genres. Saori Kobayashi will be performing an acoustic piano live session, centered around her work on the “Panzer Dragoon” series and two of its representative titles: Panzer Dragoon Saga and Panzer Dragoon Orta.
• 17:00 to 18:00 – Takenobu Mitsuyoshi Live Performance – Upon joining SEGA Enterprises (now SEGA) in 1990, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi is a key member of SEGA’s sound team, whose work spans from game music creation, sound development, voice acting and vocals. His various works marked the memories of the players, with titles such as DAYTONA USA, Shenmue Chapter 1: Yokosuka, the WCCF series, and work on SEGA’s rhythm titles CHUNITHM, Kaimai, and ONDEKI. Mitsuyoshi will offer a unique vocal performance from a selection of his work on SEGA titles.
• 19:00 to 20:30 – Shinji Mikami x Hideki Kamiya Talk – As a director and producer, he created numerous hits such as the Resident Evil series and The Evil Within series. Not only did Resident Evil play a pivotal role in popularizing the survival horror genre, but it had a profound impact on the entire gaming industry. Hideki Kamiya is the creator behind a variety of unique titles, such as Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, or the Bayonetta series. His work as a game creator has been critically acclaimed both in Japan and overseas. He recently opened his YouTube channel “Hideki Kamiya Channel,” enjoying his newly acquired freedom. Both creators left their past positions in 2023; during this talk, we will look back at each creator’s career and memories, creative process and future endeavors.

December 17

• 10:30 to 12:00 – Koji Yamamura Masterclass – From “Mt. Head” (2002), awarded with the Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to his latest feature film “A Dozen Norths” (2022), Koji Yamamura’s career spans over 40 years of research in pursuing new animation methods, creating countless short works that combine a sense of freedom to his poetic philosophy. Yamamura is also a renowned picture book artist, with more than 100 published works. In front of the theater audience, we will screen a special cut diving into Koji Yamamura’s universe, followed by a masterclass where we dive in his life dedicated to independent animation, creative approach and methods.
• 13:00 to 14:30 – Shinichi Sakamoto Masterclass – Shinichi Sakamoto is the manga artist behind “The Climber,” following the life of an alpinist (based on the eponymous novel), “Innocent” and “Innocent Rouge,” bringing the author to an unremovable status in the industry. His art compositions express cruelty scenes with a unique sense of aesthetics, topped with an outstanding drawing technique. With “Innocent,” Sakamoto shifted to a fully digital environment, further pushing the boundaries of this method. In 2021, he started his latest series “#DRCL midnight children.” In this masterclass, we will follow Sakamoto’s unique take on digital creation in manga, together with his creative process as we dig further in his universe.
• 15:30 to 17:00 – AC-bu Masterclass – AC-bu is a creative team formed in 1999. Their works expand across multiple media, further pushing new experimental methods of creation. To this day, AC-bu’s style revolves around this unique approach of bringing a sense of unexpected to the viewer. Building that “strange” feeling stands as a pillar within the team, who recently expanded its work one step further to modern art. We will be holding a masterclass on stage, pursuing the team’s unique methods and creation story behind its works. Furthermore, a special exhibition will be held centered around “Iruka no Iruka-kun,” a popular therapist dolphin character that AC-bu created for the music video of group_inou’s “THERAPY,” featuring art works and original merchandise.
• 17:00 to 18:00 – imai Live Performance – Track maker of group_inou. imai made his solo debut in 2017, highly active on Japan’s livehouse and club scene. He has performed on a wide variety of events and venues, ranging from FUJI ROCK, BAYCAMP, BOROFESTA or Zenkankakusai. The music video for “Fly feat.79, Kaho Nakamura,” created by Baku Hashimoto, has been awarded with a Staff Picks on Vimeo, alongside the Viewer Prize at the Shin-Chintose Airport International Animation Film Festival and a Special Prize at Hong Kong’s ifva awards. His latest collaboration album “MONSTERS” was released in April 2022. His works include many collaborations with the AC-bu creative team, leading to the birth of the Iruka no Iruka-kun character, also showcased in the event. imai will feature a solo live performance.
• 18:00 to 20:30 – Kenji Eno Documentary Screening and Talk