By Cori Wilbur
July 26, 2023
In 2021, the Comic-Con Museum opened in Balboa Park. Last week, the museum unveiled three new exhibits–two of which are of obvious interest to the expanding anime community. The “Cowboy Bebop 25th Anniversary Art Exhibition” showcases framed pieces of gallery-commissioned fan art related to the 1998 neo-noir space western; the “My Hero Academia Installation” gives dimension to the monumental fight between two prominent figures of the series. Both exhibits are borne through a collaborative effort with Crunchyroll, a worldwide fulcrum for anime streaming because of the vast and variegated catalog it offers.
In Japan, anime is an umbrella term used to describe any piece of animated work. In the western world, and more familiarly, anime is a specific style of animation sourced and produced in Japan. There are canonically more animes in existence than one could humanly finish in a lifetime–catching up on the 1069 (and counting) episodes of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is a weighty goal in and of itself–and exponentially more reasons as to why and how people consume anime today. But, whatever the reasons may be, or the extent to which one may invest themself in a fandom, anime’s profound story-telling has taken global popular arts by storm.
Cowboy Bebop is an unwavering zenith of anime, offering a trademarked blend of cyberpunk themes, film noir mystique, martial arts fighting, and jazzy smoothness. The show, turning 25 this year, perfectly encapsulates an existentialism that seems both reminiscent and revelatory. The current exhibition on display is a flavorful collection of interpretive works that honor the je ne sais quoi of Spike Spiegel and his crew while also offering something new to the conversation.
On the other hand, we have yet to see the enduring impact of My Hero Academia, as the series is still ongoing. However, MHA is undoubtedly definitive of the new generation of anime viewers and consumers. MHA is the ultimate underdog story: Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, a boy devoid of superpowers finding his meaning in a world where possessing one is commonplace. Under the mentorship of his idol, All Might, Deku works toward achieving his goal in becoming the “world’s greatest hero” despite his perceived quirkiness. The show’s bright color scheme, lively action sequences, and even livelier fan base begets such a tribute on a grand-scale.
In an era marked by limitless options and problems, anime has gone from a niche interest to a normalized source of serotonin. “Anime has become multigenerational,” Mary Franklin, Crunchyroll’s Head of Events, commented. Parents are introducing their kids to anime like Cowboy Bebop and kids are introducing their parents to anime like My Hero Academia, proving that “anime is for everyone,” she said. Moreover, she added that people want a good story with characters they can relate to in someway and anime provides so many different stories that connect to all kinds of people.
In the physical space of the museum are remarkable homages to two popular anime series, embodying some of the coolest moments in recent anime history. The exhibitions are notably understated, a fittingly on-brand detail, as anime likes to show more by saying less. But the true power of these exhibits, at least for me, exist in the negative space: the bridging of generations together made possible through the magical world of anime.
“Cowboy Bebop 25th Anniversary Art Exhibition” is on display now through March 1, 2024; “My Hero Academia Installation” is on display now through January 30, 2024.
