The hottest places in the Anime & Manga industry, brought to you by the SMAC! News Team… This is TOKYO MANGA DEEP WALKER! Every Monday, we have a SMAC! Editor’s meeting, where we discuss future articles and manga. Usually, we (the SMAC! News Team) pick the destination for the Tokyo Manga Deep Walker article, but this time, we decided to get some input from the other members… The result? We got a great tip! Chief Editor Mocchi told us that there’s a Star Wars Exhibition taking place in Tokyo at the moment! We all love Star Wars but, well, let’s face it… Mocchi is a true fanatic!! Star Wars has always had a loyal following of fans, but this year, everyone is getting extra hyped waiting for the new movie that will be released in December! That includes us here at SMAC!! So, without further ado, let’s head to the exhibition hall in Roppongi!! This is the inside of the Roppongi station on the Toei Oedo Subway Line in Tokyo. Tokyo has many sprawling underground stations, so if you go out the wrong exit, you might come out above ground in a totally different place! To avoid getting lost when you’re sightseeing in Tokyo, it’s best to confirm the correct exit number after you get off the train. Everything is also written in English, so if you just pay attention to the signs, you’ll be fine. This time round, we’re taking the no. 3 exit to Roppongi Hills. Right, here we are!! After reaching the surface, you’ll see a huge road. Take a left here. Go straight for a while and then… You’ll be greeted with this scene! Go up these stairs. We’re looking for a cone-shaped building called “the museum cone”. Purchase a ticket at the entrance and get in the elevator. Ride it up to the top and… you’re there!   After entering the hall, what do you think jumped out at us first? This giant Darth Vader!! Dai is already getting into the right mood!! But… uh… what’s with the gunman pose? Actually… The entrance to this exhibition is surrounded by a legion of stormtroopers!! Dai was mimicking them! Just then, something exciting happened! The lights dimmed, and just as the crowd began to murmur, a familiar tune began to play… It’s the “Imperial March”! DUN DUN DUN BUM DA DUN BUM DA DUN … And the next moment, the stormtroopers started to flash red and blue!! What powerful atmosphere! There’s nothing like an event that has a few surprises in store for its guests! But oh, look at this! There’s already a long line to see the exhibits!! Now, who is waiting for us up ahead? This intimidating Darth Vader… He looks most displeased with our lack of progress! *gulp* Here, guests were lining up to have commemorative shots taken by a professional cameraman. Wow, and that was just the entrance hall! I can’t wait to see the rest! With our hearts beating wildly, we tried to advance further into the exhibition… But there were so many people that we could hardly make any progress! As you might expect, Star Wars is really popular, even in Japan!! This first corner is called The Original Visions. It introduces several books and comics that influenced George Lucas when he made the original movies. First, take a look at this! This book explains myths and legends from various cultures all over the world. These ideas no doubt helped to make Star Wars into the legend it is today!! Moving on… Flash Gordon: A series that captured the heart of a young George Lucas! He originally wanted to create a movie adaption of these comics, and tried to purchase the rights. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to close the deal, and that particular dream remains unfulfilled. However, thanks to this chain of events, Mr. Lucas decided to create something original instead… and that was Star Wars!!   Additionally…   It’s not every day that you can see a comic that was published in 1977! These displays must be very valuable! It’s great that we can see them close up! This corner gave us some insight into the history of Star Wars. But there’s still lots left up ahead!   Moving even deeper into the exhibition hall… This corner is called Vision of FORCE! There’s a whole bunch of people standing there staring at something… What could it be!? Following their line of sight… Look at that! These were the actual lightsaber hilts used in the making of the movies!! This is… Mace Windu’s lightsaber!! Obi-Wan’s lightsaber!! Even the actual bust of Yoda that appeared in the films is on display here! What an incredible exhibition!! Continuing on… Shinning a spotlight on the epic battle scenes of Star Wars, this corner is called the Vision of BATTLE. There were also loads of people packed into this corner! The exquisitely made showcases captured our attention. I was so busy staring that I almost forgot to take the photos! Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something on the far side of the room… What’s inside this showcase? Well, look at that! It’s an Imperial Star Destroyer!! Everyone going past seems to pause to look at this display! On top of that… The Death Star! X-wings! There are so many beautiful models!!   Due to the unprecedentedly large volume of photos that we want to show you, we’ll have to continue next week on 6/11! Please look forward to it! Items that were used in the original films and… What are all these people lining up for!? All will be revealed next week!! Stay tuned! ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝ Star Wars Exhibition “Visions” Details: Period: 29/04/2015 (Wed) – 28/06/2015 (Sun), No holidays Time: Every day from 10:00 – 22:00 (No entrance after 21:30) Venue: Sky Gallery, Tokyo City View Observation Deck (52nd Floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower) Sponsors: Mori Arts Center (Tokyo City View), NHK Promotions Special Collaboration: Walt Disney Japan Collaboration: All Nippon Airways, and Nippon Cargo Airlines. Tokyo Exhibition Collaboration: Color kinetics Japan Admission: 1,800 yen for adults, 1,500 yen for seniors 65 and above, 1,200 yen for students high school and above, 600 yen for children 4 years old through middle school. Additional 500 yen admission necessary for Sky Deck rooftop Official Site: http://www.roppongihills.com/tcv/jp/sw-visions/ Queries: 03-6406-6652 ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝   Link to English google maps © ＆TM Lucasfilm Ltd.