An Abu Dhabi man is on a mission to show UAE anime and manga fans how it all began. Yuji “Tokyo Toy Guy” Ueda is bringing a unique exhibition of original hand-painted manga and anime artwork to the capital.
The Japanese Ueda, who is coordinating the transportation of 145 pieces from the Art Space company in Tokyo to Etihad Modern Art Gallery, is the founder of the Tokyo Toy production company and a passionate toy collector. He even has a manga character – Tokyo Toy Guy – created in his honour by manga artist and friend Teru-Box.
The free-to-attend show, which begins on Sunday, will be the first in the Emirates to present creations by anime and manga grandmasters Leiji Matsumoto and Osamu Tezuka, as well as a selection of manga “cels” (celluloid animation).
Ueda says: "I wanted to do this event because manga like One Piece and Naruto are very popular, but even these have origins, which were created by Matsumoto and Tezuka. Without these two legends, manga these days wouldn't exist. So this is a very good occasion for all the generations to see the origins of manga art."
An old art form
Before the digital age, Matsumoto and Tezuka used to hand-draw their masterpieces onto paper, and painters were hired to paint them in.
Ueda says this is why original artwork is now extremely valuable. Prices of artwork on show in the capital range from Dh1,800, to Dh110,000.
“Since 2003, manga has all been digitised, so there are now limited numbers of these works for sale. They’re basically very precious manuscripts,” says Ueda.
The Abu Dhabi exhibition will also includes three new works, coloured inks on paper, that Matsumoto created exclusively for the show.
Meet the artists
Tezuka (1928-1989), the "Walt Disney" of manga, is perhaps best known for creating the superhero Astro Boy (known as Mighty Atom in Japan). Astro Boy, which was later made into a hit TV series and film, is a powerful android who was created in a futuristic world where humans coexist with robots. Original hand-drawn and painted Astro Boy pictures are also among the artwork that Ueda is bringing over from Japan.
Tezuka is also famous for the creations Black Jack, Princess Knight, Phoenix (Hi no Tori in Japan), Kimba the White Lion (Jungle Emperor in Japan), Unico, Message to Adolf and Buddha. His longest-running work was Phoenix – a story of life and death that he began in the 1950s and continued until his death.
Matsumoto, 77, says the manga he is most proud of creating is Otoko Oidon (1971), a series that chronicled the life of a young man preparing for college, which later became a movie. His Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999 series will also feature at the exhibition.
Matsumoto's talents were also put to work in helping to create edgy music videos for the French electronic group Daft Punk's album Discovery.
“They took off their helmets and came to see me in the office,” says Matsumoto of the notoriously secretive duo, who wear helmets in public. “This was the first work I’ve done with artists from overseas. It was a great experience and much fun.”
• Animate Me is from Sunday, November 1, until November 31 at Etihad Modern Art Gallery in Al Bateen. It is being held in association with Kinokuniya Art Space and Tokyo Toy Films, and supported by the Japanese Embassy of Abu Dhabi. The gallery will also be serving Japanese cuisine in its Art Café. Visit www.etihadmodernart.com or www.facebook.com/EtihadModernArtGallery
artslife@thenational.ae
Joker: Folie a Deux
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Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
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MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
