Black Jack Exhibition at Harukas

For manga fans and newcomers alike, this is an unmissable cultural event. From September 27 to December 14, 2025, Abeno Harukas Art Museum becomes a living archive of Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack—a rare opportunity to trace the anatomy of a manga phenomenon from first pencil lines to final printed pages.

More than 500 original manuscripts line the galleries, many shown publicly for the first time. Iconic moments snap into focus: the tension of operating‑room scenes inked in crisp black, Black Jack’s piercing gaze rendered with delicate brushwork, and the unforgettable patients poised between hope and despair. Look closely for Tezuka’s margin notes—tiny corrections, speech‑bubble rewrites, and pacing marks that reveal a director’s eye for rhythm.

A dedicated process zone functions like a ‘lab’ for drafts: over 200 preparatory sketches and storyboard layouts sit beside their final pages so you can compare composition, camera angles, and panel timing. Another section pairs key medical episodes with real‑world references drawn from Tezuka’s own medical studies in Osaka, underscoring how anatomy and ethics power the drama.

Multimedia stations deepen the immersion. Archival footage captures Tezuka’s rapid brushwork; audio commentary breaks down his cinematic techniques—tight close‑ups, lateral pans, and hard cuts—that reshaped the visual language of manga. Curated clips from animated adaptations show how those still frames later sprang to life on screen.

Taken together, the exhibition reads like a full casebook of craft and compassion. Long‑time readers will feel as if they’ve stepped inside the series; new visitors will understand why Black Jack endures as one of Japanese pop culture’s most morally complex, human stories—rendered by a creator whose scalpel was a pen.

 Ink & Scalpel — 500+ original manuscripts, margin notes, and correction marks visible up close.

 Process Lab — Side‑by‑side storyboards and final inks reveal how chapters evolved.

 Ethics & Medicine — Episode galleries paired with real clinical references from Tezuka’s studies in Osaka.

 Tezuka in Motion — Archival studio video and audio unpack his cinematic paneling and pacing.

 Sky Gallery — View Osaka’s skyline before/after in Harukas’ 16F museum setting.

Photos: Official Website