Some events don’t happen twice. In July 2025, Posuka Demizu — the Japanese illustrator behind The Promised Neverland, a manga that has sold 42 million copies worldwide including 4 million in France — led an exclusive masterclass in the Oval Room of the Richelieu site of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Staging this kind of event in this kind of place takes more than logistics. Hype Notice, in partnership with Crunchyroll, conceived and produced every dimension of it.
Born in Tokyo in 1988, Posuka Demizu has established herself as one of the most versatile manga artists of her generation. Her collaboration with writer Kaiu Shirai on The Promised Neverland — serialised in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 2016 to 2020 — earned her the Mando Kobayashi Manga Grand Prix 2017 and the Shōgakukan Prize 2018.
But what makes her profile truly unique is what came next. She designed the characters for Disney+’s Dragons of Wonderhatch, illustrated the Japanese poster for the film Dune, and contributed to the fashion magazine Spur. A rare artistic range, sitting at the intersection of manga, animation and contemporary visual culture.
In France, The Promised Neverland is now published under the Crunchyroll label — the partner behind this event.
The choice of location was deliberate. Holding the event in the Oval Room of the Richelieu site — one of Paris’s most historically significant cultural spaces — was a statement: manga deserves the same legitimacy as any other art form.
During the masterclass, Posuka Demizu shared her artistic vision, influences and drawing practice with an audience of fans, journalists, and professionals from the publishing and animation industries. The highlight was the live creation of an exclusive shikishi — a hand-drawn, dedicated board that is one of the most prized collector’s items in Japanese culture — which generated strong organic engagement on social media, with participants sharing widely in real time.
With 4 million copies of The Promised Neverland sold in France, the country holds a unique position in Europe: the world’s second-largest manga market, just behind Japan. Publishers, streaming platforms and rights holders increasingly look for partners who can navigate these communities from the inside — and activate them with precision.
That’s the space we have occupied since 2018: deep familiarity with manga, anime and gaming culture, combined with the event production and creative capabilities to build moments that last.
👉 Also worth reading: My Hero Academia at the Trocadéro — 10 million copies sold in France, celebrated in front of the Eiffel Tower — and Lacoste x Gentle Mates, when premium fashion met esport.