Looking Back at Afternoon's Legendary Lineup Through Original Artwork: A Report on the 'Afternoon 40th Anniversary Exhibition'

Kodansha's manga magazine Afternoon, home to numerous popular titles that have been adapted into anime — including Oh My Goddess!, Parasyte -the maxim-, and Genshiken — celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026.

To celebrate the milestone, the "Afternoon 40th Anniversary Exhibition" has been running since July 10 at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. This report highlights the exhibition's key attractions, centered on photos taken at a press preview held the day before the event opened.

Afternoon, a monthly seinen manga magazine, was first published at the end of 1986. As of July 2026, its ongoing serializations include anime-adapted titles such as The Darwin Incident, Heavenly Delusion, Blue Period, and Medalist. The exhibition displays original artwork from both current serializations and beloved classics, organized by era.

A key visual panel for the "Afternoon 40th Anniversary Exhibition" greets visitors at the entrance, bringing together characters from the many series serialized over the magazine's 40-year history in a single striking image.

The area covering 1987 to 1991, shortly after the magazine's launch, showcases original artwork from works representative of both the artists and Afternoon itself, including Kosuke Fujishima's Oh My Goddess! and Hitoshi Iwaaki's Parasyte -the maxim-. A photo spot featuring the three sisters from Oh My Goddess! — Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld — lined up together is a divine sight to behold.

The area covering 1992 to 1996 features Hitoshi Ashinano's debut work Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, among other titles. A particular highlight is a photo spot recreating the entrance and deck terrace of "Café Alpha," which appears in Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou — visitors can actually sit down and take a commemorative photo.

The area covering 1997 to 2001, spanning the turn of the century, also displays a wide variety of works, including Mohiro Kito's distinctive Shadow Star Narutaru and Tsutomu Nihei's hard sci-fi action title BLAME!.

The area covering 2002 to 2006, roughly 20 years ago, features Yuki Urushibara's gem of a work Mushi-Shi and Kio Shimoku's signature title Genshiken, alongside works still being serialized today, such as Asa Higuchi's Big Windup! and Makoto Yukimura's Vinland Saga.

Also on display are standing panels of the third-year members of the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture from Genshiken, as well as costumes actually used in the Vinland Saga stage play.

Visiting the area covering 2007 to 2011, visitors can look back on works such as Tsutomu Nihei's Knights of Sidonia and Genshiken: Second Season, with a scenic diorama from Knights of Sidonia also on display.

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