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GALS! Artist Mihona Fujii Draws Grown-up Versions of Characters for Shibuya 109 Collaboration

To celebrate the Shibuya 109 building's 40th anniversary, GALS! creator Mihona Fujii drew a four-page manga showing aged up versions of the characters reacting to Shibuya 109's changed appearance over the years. Fujii posted the manga on Twitter on April 28, the same day Shibuya 109 installed its new logo design.

The short manga shows the main characters in college getting ready to visit Shibuya in the year 2002. When they trip, they somehow end up in the year 2019 and are shocked by how different the logo looks, the presence of so many foreigners, and how the shops have changed. But they still love shopping for clothes there and trying out the new styles.

GALS! is a manga that was initially serialized in the shojo magazine Ribon from 1998 to 2002. The story follows three young girls trying to live out the gal (or gyaru) fashion subculture in Shibuya. It was adapted into a television anime series by Studio Pierrot in 2001.

The Shibuya 109 building is an iconic shopping department store in Shibuya. The building was seen as a sanctuary for gyaru during the peak of the subculture's popularity. It first opened in April 1979, and for its 40th anniversary it changed its logo after holding a contest to select the best submission.

Fujii wrote in a tweet following the manga: "It was Shibuya 109's idea to do this manga. I'm in awe that I was given this opportunity. I felt my love for Shibuya 109 grow even more as I was drawing this. Whew, I'm glad I was able to get this up during the 28th! I was worried for a bit there!"

[Via Nijimen]