Yes, it's true: Naoshi Arakawa, creator of the critically acclaimed manga about the struggles of a teen piano prodigy, Your Lie in April, will be attending this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles on July 1-4 as an official Guest of Honor.

This marks the first time Arakawa, who lives in Japan, will be making a Stateside appearance in person. With more details to follow, Arakawa’s activities at Anime Expo so far are to include a Q&A panel, media interviews, and fan autograph sessions. A schedule will be announced shortly.

Arakawa’s visit comes on the strength of the growing popularity in North America of Your Lie in April, which recently made the list of “2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens” announced by the Young Adult Library Services Association (a division of the American Library Association). In Japan, Your Lie in April won the Shonen Category of the 37th Kodansha Manga Awards and was singled out by global bestselling artist Eiichiro Oda (creator of One Piece) as “the manga I’m most jealous of.” Your Lie in April has been adapted into a hit anime series (available from Aniplex of America) that was voted 1st place for the SUGOI Japan Award 2016 by Japanese fans. A live-action film is forthcoming in Japan later this year.



The announcement from the April 6 issue of Monthly Shonen Magazine (click to enlarge image)

Arakawa’s appearance at Anime Expo was first announced in Japanese, in the print issue of Monthly Shonen Magazine released on April 6 (above). In that issue, it was also announced that Arakawa would be debuting a brand-new series, titled Sayonara Watashi no Cramer (see preview image, below), in the June issue of Monthly Shonen Magazine, on May 6.



Image from Naoshi Arakawa's forthcoming new series, Sayonara Watashi no Cramer (click to enlarge image)

About Naoshi Arakawa

Naoshi Arakawa made his debut as a manga artist in 2007 with Tsumetai Kousha no Toki wa Tomaru (The Time Stops on a Frozen Campus), a manga adaptation of the mystery novel by Mizuki Tsujimura. After his original soccer series, Sayonara Football, he started his most renowned work, Your Lie in April in 2011. The series about the lives of young and talented classical musicians won the Kodansha Manga Award in 2013. It was adapted into an anime series in 2014 and will be a live-action movie in 2016. He is currently preparing to launch a brand new series in Monthly Shonen Magazine.

Media Contact:

Misaki Kido

pr@nullkamsf.com

For a PDF of the press release, click here