Osamu Tezuka Museum Exhibits Kemono Friends Illustrations to Teach that Life is Precious

By Shinichi Takabe / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

10:30 JST, December 26, 2025

TAKARAZUKA, Hyogo — Fans of the popular media franchise Kemono Friends can enjoy an exhibition of its illustrations at The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture.

Livestock abandoned in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 are behind the creation of this charming work, which features anthropomorphized animals. The exhibition offers the opportunity to think about our coexistence with animals.

Kemono Friends is set in Japari Park, a fictional giant zoo. The work has spawned entertainment across various genres, including games, anime and manga, both in Japan and overseas.

Mine Yoshizaki, the creator of the manga “Keroro Gunso” (“Sgt. Frog”), has been providing the concept designs.

After the 2011 earthquake, Yoshizaki shifted his focus to abandoned livestock in the disaster-hit areas. He began looking for ways to help the affected region as well as the people and animals there through his profession, leading to the creation of characters that transform from animals into humans.

To deepen the public’s understanding of animals, Kemono Friends collaborates with zoos and aquariums nationwide by placing character panels near the exhibited animals. Donation boxes for the World Wildlife Fund also are set up at events featuring Kemono Friends.

The exhibition in Takarazuka commemorates the 10th anniversary of the release of a Kemono Friends smartphone game in 2015. The venue displays illustrations, rough sketches and character references in three areas.

The Friends Zukan (encyclopedia) area displays 450 illustrations categorized by animal type. They include cats, penguins, rabbits, monkeys and lizards. The exhibition also has a “divine beasts” category, featuring mythical creatures, such as byakko (white tiger), suzaku (vermilion bird) and yatagarasu crow, and presents the animals in an easy-to-understand way.

Visitors can also look at an original collaborative work that features Leo, a character from “Jungle Taitei,” known as “The Jungle Emperor,” or “Kimba: The White Lion,” by Tezuka. The work pays tribute to the late great mangaka who had ties to Takarazuka.

“I was greatly influenced by Tezuka’s work,” Yoshizaki commented, and added that the exhibition at The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum is “a dream come true as it is a sort of holy site for me.”

The memorial museum says that it hopes visitors will “experience the essence of Tezuka’s work — that is, the value of life and love for nature — through the exhibits.”

The exhibition runs until Feb. 23. The museum is closed on Mondays, except in the event of national holidays. It is also closed from Dec. 26-31. Admission is ¥700 for adults, ¥300 for junior high and high school students and ¥100 for elementary school children.