Exploring How a Manga is Printed at the One Piece Only Exhibition

Recently, I was able to check out the “One Piece Only” art exhibition currently running in Tokyo. Rather than just a collection of art, the exhibit uses One Piece as a vehicle to both explore the history and art of printing and give an in-depth look at the process of creating (and mass producing) modern manga.

The first room of the exhibition shows different printing techniques. It includes everything from modern, full-color inkjet prints to the iconic child Luffy and Shanks hat scene remade using a custom-made metal plate for a letterpress print.

This area also shows how colors are printed in layers and how two tankōbon are bound at once and then cut in half before being shipped.

As for the exhibit area itself, when not otherwise used for hanging prints, the walls of the entire exhibit are lined with manga pages—each portion of the wall containing pages from a specific year of the manga’s decades-long run.

The next major area of the exhibit uses the creation of One Piece‘s chapter 1000 to show the step-by-step process of creating a chapter of the manga. We see examples of a blank paper, rough sketches, line art, the proofreading process, the plate making films, the resin printing plates, and the final print.

After this, a small side room with an art station where guests are invited to make fan art of their favorite One Piece characters. These pieces can then be hung in the neighboring special room where attendee fan art covers all four walls completely.

At the far end of the exhibit is a movie theater showing two 15-minute films. One of these shows the printing process of Shonen Jump and the other shows the printing process for a tankōbon. Outside the theater’s exit is a photo spot where you can pose in front of the exhibition’s logo wearing Luffy’s iconic straw hat.

The final area is the gift shop where you can buy everything from prints of famous pages to shirts, mugs, and art books related to everything you just saw.

The “One Piece Only” art exhibition opened on October 10, 2024 and will run until January 13, 2025 at the Play! Museum in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. Tickets cost 2400 yen and must be bought in advance. For more information, check out the official English website.