The heart of Manhattan’s SoHo district was once again transformed into an immersive manga haven with the return of Kodansha House 2025. This year’s highly anticipated pop-up experience delivered unprecedented access to the world’s largest publisher of Japanese comics, headlined by a rare New York appearance.
We were there for the exclusive Atsushi Ohkubo Q&A, where the visionary creator behind the beloved series Fire Force and Soul Eater offered insights into his career and legacy. Beyond the Q&A, we toured the stunning manga gallery, capturing photos of the vibrant exhibits dedicated to top Kodansha titles like Blue Lock, Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell, and the beloved shojo series A Sign of Affection.
Read on for our full review of the NYC anime pop-up and all the details you missed!
Is Kodansha House Worth Visiting During New York Comic Con?
Kodansha House returned to New York City this fall, boasting a larger event space, and a new roster of Japanese manga creators ready to enthusiastically interact with their overseas fans. Timed again during NYCC, the manga exhibit pop-up event had a lot of crossover between convention goers and anime & manga fans alike who wanted something fun to do between time spent at the comic convention.
According to Kodansha’s own numbers alone, their pop-up event ran for three weeks in October and attracted 21,000 anime and manga fans to the SoHo location. Judging by the closing line in the email stating “until next year, keep reading, keep dreaming, and stay legendary” it seems to be a (partial) confirmation that the event will return next fall in 2026.
I wrote about my experience last year attending the manga pop up event, and that aside from going to Anime NYC, meeting Vinland Saga creator Makoto Yukimura was a literal highlight and positive focal point of that year for me.
While I didn’t win another autograph lotto, I did win a free ticket to the Meet the Mangaka Q&A session with Fire Force creator Atsushi Ohkubo, which was a fun and surprisingly enlightening experience.
Kodansha House NYC Manga Gallery Photos
While walking into the new space this year, fans were greeted with a café, ceiling art installation composed of manga pages, and a gallery featuring works from Ghost in the Shell, Blue Lock, Attack on Titan, A Sign of Affection, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, and Fire Force.
I don’t recall if last year was like this, but the mangaka left their signatures on their work’s gallery mural after their creator visit to Kodansha House.
A Sign of Affection & Wotakoi Gallery Pictures
(I don’t know if Wotakoi’s mangaka signed his work after I visited the gallery or not.)
Also, before I talk about Ohkubo’s Q&A, I would just like to put it out there that I really hope next year, Blue Lock’s Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Attack on Titan’s Hajime Isayama could visit Kodansha House for creator events like the signing and Q&A. It’s been years since AoT ended, but I truly just don’t feel like the story is over yet.
Maybe we will get the AOE the manga storyline hinted at, or the isekai School Castes hinted at – either way I just have that lingering, almost gnawing feeling that 2026 will be a good year for (long-suffering) AoT fans.
If Isayama had any events in NYC I’d love to go see him speak (or even better, would love to somehow interview him and learn about his passion for a story that has been at the forefront of my mind, for 10 years at least. Especially since I couldn’t attend when he came to Anime NYC years ago….I really hope Isayama makes an appearance next year.
Anywho, enough about that for now – lets talk about another mangaka with an interesting story – Fire Force’s Ohkubo!
Atsushi Ohkubo Meet the Mangaka Fan Experience
Atsushi Ohkubo is the author and illustrator of Fire Force. The anime adaptation of the series finale will air this winter. With this topic of discussion as the forefront of the conversation, a librarian turned moderator from the NYPL steered the conversation toward Ohkubo’s background, his first exposure to manga as a creative medium, and inquired if he really had plans of quitting the industry with the conclusion of the Fire Force manga.
Much like Naruto creator Kishimoto-sensei’s sentiment back at NYCC 2015, Ohkubo-sensei addressed the retirement and potential Fire Force sequel rumors – stating that he was just tired, having given his all for nearly a decade while writing the weekly serialization from 2015 – 2022. Once given some time to regroup and rest, he may think about writing another series.
I brought up mangaka Kishimoto because that was my first exposure to a creator publicly expressing his exhaustion after finishing a weekly serialization deadline for nearly two decades. After being seemingly strong-armed into creating a sequel to his iconic work, we ended up with Boruto – a work that still harbors very divisive feelings in the fandom.
Atsushi Ohkubo’s Soul Eater and Fire Force Q&A Answers
Interestingly enough, Ohkubo mentioned that his other notable work, Soul Eater, has a clear link to Fire Force: both are set in the same universe.
After our earth today was destroyed in a cataclysm, civilization rebuilt and now with spiritual lawlessness running amok, the students at Death Weapon Meister Academy train to serve as Meister, humanity’s protectors. Fire Force builds on this existing world, inspired by American comics like X-Men, with the conscious decision to follow users who could control a single element, the “fire” of Fire Force.
(Fire fighters often weren’t explored as heroes with super powers, which is why Ohkubo decided to make them the focal point of the series, with influences from western media for character design and power levels (like X-Men).
As somebody who was familiar with Ohkubo’s work but had never actively read or watched it, I actually started reading the Fire Force manga because Kodansha released the first three chapters for free during the Kodansha House event.
I enjoyed learning about the mangaka’s first introduction to the medium being a random volume of Ultimate Muscle his mother brought him, and learning about how Akira Toriyama, Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas), and David Lynch influenced his work and creative style.
Deciding to pursue manga in college, Ohkubo even reflected on thinking he could really “make it” due to watching his classmates often slack off. After all, he said manga was everywhere when he was growing up – why not try his hand at it?
More often than not, I think cross-over influences between Eastern and Western culture are viewed as one-sided when in reality, it’s an ever-changing dynamic cultural exchange that evolves between either side of our shared known world.
The president of Kodansha US was even there in attendance and welcomed Ohkubo on stage, which in my opinion demonstrates how serious Kodansha is about bringing an energetic and immersive manga experience to fans.
After the Mangaka Q&A finished, I applauded the live interview with other attendees before getting up and deciding to take another stroll around the lounge and manga gallery.
I saw the special-themed latte drinks advertised online being made at Isshiki café, but admittedly decided to walk around and talk to other people rather than stand and wait in the (honestly, really long) line.
Blue Lock, Attack on Titan, and Ghost in the Shell Exhibits
The Ghost in the Shell and Blue Lock both had immersive experiences that doubled as cool photo op backdrops.
A Ghost in the Shell tachikoma display was in the final room behind those experiences.
Attack on Titan Titan’s Fury brought back the scale model display of Shiganshina District from last year, and again included the option of a photo op.
As I passed the store and browsed the groups of friends hanging out on sofas and huddled around tables reading manga and laughing, I couldn’t help but think how nice of an experience Kodansha House was during the convention season.
I enjoyed my time at the pop-up event, and hope I can attend again next year and continue to share with you all how the event continually improves to create an even better experience for fans each fall.
(Also, I really hope Isayama visits Kodansha House next fall – fingers crossed!)
But, tell me your thoughts: Did you attend Kodansha House this year? What mangaka would you most like to see visit the event?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more Anime & Manga Events!
☆ In Asian Spaces ☆ Ephesians 6:12 ☆
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