Popular illustrator Maniani will be appearing at North America’s largest Anime Expo and Taiwan Manga Expo following last year!
Animate Holdings Co., Ltd. Press release: August 28, 2025 Popular illustrator Maniani will be appearing at North America’s largest Anime Expo and Taiwan Manga Expo following last year! Frontier Works Inc. (Headquarters: Itabashi-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Masahide Tsuji; hereafter referred to as “Frontier Works”) exhibited at Anime Expo (commonly known as AX), held in Los Angeles, USA from July 3rd to 6th, 2025, and the 24th Manga Expo, held in Taipei, Taiwan from July 24th to 28th. Along with popular content, the products and works of illustrator Maniani attracted attention.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/16756/7147/16756-7147-133449a9bab729f8eca47c96062276da-330×330.jpg
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/16756/7147/16756-7147-63ec9aa7f62e515b065a445aee7e32cf-330×330.jpg Manga Expo Booth 【Booth display highlighting illustrator Maniani】 AX and Manga Expo are the largest anime and game conventions in North America and Taiwan, respectively. This is Frontier Works’ fifth time exhibiting at AX and their second time at Manga Expo, and the attention and attendance numbers are increasing year by year. AX attracted approximately 410,000 visitors over four days, while Manga Expo attracted 635,000 visitors over five days. Frontier Works exhibited illustrator Maniani’s products at a standalone booth at these two large-scale trade shows. Since Maniani’s work has many international fans, this year’s exhibit went beyond simple
introductions and focused on merchandise sales, with a separate booth. 【The charm of two sides of the same coin: “Scary” and “Cute”】 The catchphrase that best describes the appeal of illustrator Maniani’s work is “Kowaii.” A cute character can suddenly transform into a monster in the next scene, creating a unique “kowaii” worldview that alternates between “kowai” and “kawaii.” Mochizuki Yuka, creative director at Frontier Works, explains the world Maniani creates as follows: “SHADOW MONSTER, one of Maniani’s signature series, is a character that appears adorable at first glance, but the moment you take your eyes off it, it transforms into a grotesque form, harboring a dangerous, dark allure. The diverse characters have an exquisite balance of humor, venom, and cuteness, and viewers are sure to be drawn into the unique world of the ‘Maniani World.'”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/16756/7147/16756-7147-be4ff1dbcd3d79faa52fb16600196859-1200×1138.jpg (C)Maniani 2025 ■Exhibition Event Overview Anime Expo (commonly known as AX) Dates: July 3rd – July 6th, 2025 Location: Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, California, USA 〇Taiwan 24th Manga Expo Date: July 24th to July 28th, 2025 Location: Taipei City, Taiwan Taipei World Trade Center ■Artist profile Maniani An illustrator and character designer active mainly on social media. Her “Kowaii” style, which exquisitely mixes cuteness and a dark atmosphere, is popular, including her Monster series, and she has been involved in a variety of projects, including game character design and book illustrations.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/16756/7147/16756-7147-c696aa5145169bb54419886c617a41cf-300×300.jpg (C)Maniani 2025 [Official website] http://maniani-world.com (Artist SNS) [Official X] @maniani0122 [Official pixiv]
https://www.pixiv.net/users/8873261 [Official Instagram]
https://www.instagram.com/maniani0122 Press release attachments