Manga artist Daisuke Terasawa, known for masterpieces like "Mister Ajikko" and "將太的壽司", recently hit his 40th debut anniversary. But instead of a typical celebration, he's surprisingly launched an "Original Art Transfer Exhibition," aiming to sell his years of accumulated original manuscripts to fans who will truly love and cherish them.
This unusual arrangement sparked quite a buzz online after the exhibition details dropped. Terasawa himself took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain his reasoning and personal thoughts behind the transfer.
Terasawa revealed that the initial thought behind selling his original art stemmed from a very practical concern: "If I pass away someday, what will my family do with all this stuff? Even I find it hard to organize, so it would just be a bigger headache for my survivors." He added, "Rather than having them thrown away or burned in the end, I'd rather sell them to people who genuinely want and will cherish them."
He also mentioned that some suggested donating them to places like manga libraries. However, those institutions have limited storage space. "If they took my level of manuscripts, it might prevent more important, historically valuable works from being collected instead." He clarified, "This isn't false modesty; I genuinely don't think my work is *that* significant (laughs). Of course, I still really love the manga I've drawn!"
Being able to hold this original art transfer exhibition has brought back fond and happy memories of the days I poured my heart into creating. I'm also really grateful to Pierre Tezuka-sensei for helping me discuss my thoughts on "sake." I hope to chat about all these feelings in person with everyone who attends the exhibition. My back pain has been pretty bad lately, but I'll do my best to be there!
Hearing Terasawa's explanation, it's hard not to feel a touch of melancholy. Even the artist himself finds his collection of original art a hassle to manage. At 66, he doesn't want to burden his family, which is why he hopes fans who love his work will take over through this "transfer" exhibition. For him, having someone cherish these pieces is a wonderful outcome.
While this kind of arrangement is certainly uncommon, Terasawa isn't facing financial difficulties. He simply wants to entrust his art to his fans. Perhaps it's a better approach than hoarding them at home, only for his family to deal with them after he's gone.