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In 2024, Kodansha, one of Japan’s most storied and prestigious manga publishers, set out on a mission: Bring the spirit of manga home to the U.S. They wanted to create brand awareness and affinity, and get fans to to associate the mother brand with their most signature, globally impactful IP, like Akira, Sailor Moon, Blue Lock, and Attack on Titan, to name a few.
The team was huge, all under the deft hand of Hornet ECD Daniel Fries. My role was Creative Director of elements within the social campaign, Programming Developer for the 5 weeks of daily programming we needed to fill, and Copywriter for the hundreds of social posts a some of the dope-ass merch.
Instead of just showing up with logos and legacy, we listened to the fans. They didn’t want a corporate billboard. They wanted a world. Their world, made real. So, we built it. Kodansha House: a living, breathing love letter to manga culture, right in the heart of New York City. Part gallery, part hangout, part holy ground for fandom.
19K visitors in 5 weeks. Thousands of posts, millions of impressions. But more importantly, the community felt seen. They made Kodansha their own. It was better than we could have ever anticipated.
This year, we went BIG. A two-story space in Soho. Bigger IPs. Bigger creators. Bigger crowds. Custom drops for collectors. A digital hub connecting fans worldwide. Walking into the manga library to find 100 people sitting in silence completely engrossed in comics was truly moving, for me.
And, yes… my girl Megan Thee Stallion pulled up. The internet exploded. Millions of views. Hundreds of thousands of shares. And a fan community that just keeps growing.
Kodansha House isn’t just a pop-up anymore. It’s a movement. A home base for manga lovers, creators, and the culturally-curious, where connection is the main event. We turned a publisher into a cultural phenomenon. And this? This is only the beginning.