I’ve been fortunate enough to recently see two truly spectacular exhibits of original manga pages. Seeing any manga originals is in itself a pretty rare occurrence–for a number of Japan-specific reasons–so it was truly a treat to see so many amazing originals in such a short span of time.
In this post: the Kaoru Mori exhibit at the Kyoto Manga Museum.
Kaoru Mori is best known for her series Emma (which I admittedly haven’t read), but this show featured almost entirely work from her current series (that I’m a huge fan of), A Bride’s Story. Her sheer drafting ability is obviously absolutely stunning. There’s seemingly nothing she can’t draw–horses, incredibly detailed/rendered cloth and clothing, food/cooking, etc.
But what truly bowled me over seeing these originals was the use of screentone. Actual stick-on screentone is still very much a thing in Japan and one obviously sees it “in action” on the page if you read any manga. Seeing how she utilizes it up close and on the bristol board, however, was a truly revelatory experience for me.
Enjoy!
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