Everything We Learned From MAPPA Expo's Latest Visual Update

MAPPA has given its 15th anniversary exhibition a visual identity.

On July 17, the studio revealed the official key visual for MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary, alongside seven illustrations created specifically for the exhibition. The new artwork covers three of MAPPA's most recognisable productions: Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc and Attack on Titan Final Season.

View MAPPA's official key visual announcement, then inspect all seven exhibition illustrations in the full English press release (PDF).

The update arrives ahead of the exhibition's September 16 opening at YURAKUCHO MUSEUM in Tokyo. It does not reveal the complete exhibition lineup, but it offers the clearest indication yet of how MAPPA wants to present its first 15 years.

An original character represents the anniversary

Rather than building the main visual around Denji, Yuji Itadori, Eren Yeager or another established protagonist, MAPPA placed an original character at its centre.

The blue-eyed boy featured in the Expo visual previously appeared in the MAPPA 15th Anniversary Movie, an original short created for the studio's anniversary and set to PEOPLE 1's song "Seikatsu," or "My Life."

That connection gives the exhibition a visual identity separate from any one franchise. MAPPA is using the character to represent the studio itself, while its better-known productions surround and support the wider anniversary campaign.

It is a more deliberate choice than assembling a collage of recognisable characters. The visual suggests that the exhibition wants to connect MAPPA's productions through the process of animation rather than present them as an unrelated collection of popular titles.

Seven new illustrations, led by Jujutsu Kaisen

The July update includes seven newly drawn exhibition illustrations: four for Jujutsu Kaisen, two for Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc and one for Attack on Titan Final Season.

The distribution makes Jujutsu Kaisen the most heavily represented production in this first wave of exhibition artwork.

That is not especially surprising. The anime remains one of MAPPA's largest current productions, with Season 4 and the continuation of the Culling Game now in development. Giving it four illustrations provides enough space to represent several characters or conflicts rather than reducing the series to a single promotional image.

Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc receives two illustrations, keeping the theatrical film at the centre of MAPPA's anniversary material while the franchise prepares to continue into the Assassins Arc.

Attack on Titan Final Season receives one new illustration. Although MAPPA handled only the concluding portion of the larger adaptation, the production remains an essential part of the studio's international identity and recent history.

This is not the complete exhibition lineup

The seven illustrations should not be treated as confirmation that the Expo will feature only three productions.

MAPPA's announcement describes Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc, Attack on Titan Final Season and Jujutsu Kaisen as part of an exhibition covering works produced across the studio's 15-year history. It has not yet published a complete title-by-title exhibition list.

That distinction matters for productions such as Dorohedoro, Ranma 1/2, Vinland Saga, Yuri!!! on Ice, Dororo, Terror in Resonance and The God of High School. Their absence from this particular illustration reveal does not confirm their absence from the exhibition.

The current artwork is best understood as the first major promotional wave, not a floor plan.

The update also introduced anniversary merchandise

MAPPA also revealed merchandise based on the broader 15th anniversary visual and opened another advance ticket lottery for the exhibition's first schedule period.

This reinforces the role of the original anniversary imagery. The blue-eyed character and the visual language of the anniversary film are not being used only as decoration for the event website. MAPPA is positioning them as the shared identity connecting the exhibition, merchandise and anniversary campaign.

More franchise-specific goods are likely, but the July announcement concentrates on establishing MAPPA's anniversary branding before revealing the complete exhibition experience.

What remains unknown

Several important details have not been announced.

MAPPA has not provided a complete list of represented productions, a detailed breakdown of the exhibition rooms or confirmation of how much original production material will be displayed.

It is also unclear how the exhibition will balance finished promotional artwork against storyboards, layouts, key animation, background art and other material from the production process.

That balance will determine whether the Expo functions primarily as a franchise celebration or as a serious look at how MAPPA's animation has been made.

The anniversary movie points towards the second possibility. Its focus on hands, drawing, layouts and the movement from rough work to completed animation would translate naturally into an exhibition about craft.

For now, however, that remains an expectation rather than a confirmed feature.

A clearer picture, but not the full one

The July visual update establishes the exhibition's central image and identifies the three franchises leading its first promotional wave.

Jujutsu Kaisen receives the greatest emphasis, Chainsaw Man maintains its theatrical momentum, and Attack on Titan represents a completed production that helped define MAPPA internationally.

At the centre of it all is an original character created specifically for the studio's anniversary.

That may be the most revealing choice. MAPPA EXPO is using major franchises to attract attention, but it does not want the exhibition to belong entirely to any of them.

The full picture will become clearer as MAPPA reveals the remaining works and exhibition contents ahead of the September opening.