Nobody knows how to celebrate a birthday better than Totoro. The iconic Studio Ghibli mascot has been celebrating its 35th birthday all over the world for months. She returned to movie theaters in several countries; It was screened again at film festivals, such as Toronto; and was the focus of many activities in his native Japan, where he has been a protagonist for years. Now, he also wants to do it in Barcelona, ??where he will become one of the main stars of the manga show, which begins this Friday and will last until Sunday at Fira Gran Via, in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. A relevant role that he will share with authors such as the Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley, the French novelist and screenwriter Arnaud Dollen or the musician and filmmaker Fermin Muguruza.
“Years ago, Totoro became an icon that exudes love and sympathy. For the little ones, it is the gateway to anime. But it is much more. Like the vast majority of Hayao Miyazaki’s works, they are drawings that awaken ecological awareness and have encouraged several foundations to save forests, including the one that inspires the film,” says Oriol Estrada, content advisor for Manga Barcelona, ??who also He acknowledges that “I am never ceased to be surprised by the number of actions, but also merchandising, that revolves around it.”
His influence is such that 35 artists – one for each year of life – have dedicated an exhibition to him in the salon. Many of them come from Escola Joso, a reference in comics, illustration and animation training. Its head of studies, Josep Maria Polls, admits that “Miyazaki’s imagination is very powerful and My Neighbor Totoro is one of the key pieces, partly because everyone, whether they like anime or not, ends up finding a link with it. , whether it is tenderness, protection or love.”
Jordi Pastor and Reinaldo Pereira, curators of the exhibition, believe that part of its success lies in the fact that “it is a simple but very recognizable figure no matter how many years pass. The script is also simple since they are two girls who have just moved and who want to see her mother, who is in the hospital,” as the filmmaker himself also wanted at the time, when her mother was hospitalized for a tuberculosis. “But it is a universal simplicity that goes beyond what is established in Hollywood and with which Miyazaki, who is like a third grandfather for everyone, manages to awaken many sensations.”
It is not the only exhibition that will have this affectionate character as the protagonist, as it will also be very present in the Studio Ghibli cosplay exhibition, which includes costumes inspired by this and other feature films, such as Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky or Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, among others.
In addition to those already mentioned, the manga hall will have four other exhibitions: one dedicated to the gastronomy of the Japanese country; another to the school and the school sports clubs, which have inspired so many stories; a third that will present the art of Tokyo Genso, the Japanese illustrator who dedicates much of his time to creating backgrounds for video games and anime; and a last space that aims to highlight the fantasy genre, one of the basic columns of popular culture and also of manga.
Sports will be another of the strong points. Throughout the 85,000 m2 of the hall – 3,000 more than the last edition -, visitors will be able to find basketball courts, rings for sumo wrestling or a volleyball court where they can compete against some athletes from the Federation. Catalan Volleyball. “Volleyball has become fashionable for some time now thanks to mangas and animes like Haikyuu!”, says Meritxell Puig, general director of Ficomic. In fact, one of the presentations this Thursday is dedicated to this particularity.
As the icing on the cake, don’t forget to try the Catalan cream mochi that the Escribà pastry shop has created for the occasion. Also be sure to stop by the movie theater where the latest Detective Conan movie, the new Digimon or the most recent chapters of One Piece will be shown.
Whoever was left without a ticket, as they are sold out from Friday to Sunday, will be able to immerse themselves in the show from home thanks to the Manga Stream section, where high-class guests will parade and some podcasts will be recorded. There is no excuse not to delve into Japanese culture during this December long weekend.
