Frieren’s treasure chest is full of chocolate for Meiji’s 100th anniversary

A treasure chest packed with wrapped chocolate bars brings Frieren, Fern and Stark together for Meiji Milk Chocolate’s 100th anniversary. Their illustration is among the manga tributes coming to the Meiji Milk Chocolate 100th Anniversary Exhibition, which will run at Tokyo International Forum from December 23–30, 2026.

Frieren, NANA and City Hunter share the chocolate

The manga corner will feature anniversary illustrations and messages from 40 manga creators. Participants include NANA creator Ai Yazawa, City Hunter creator Tsukasa Hojo, and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End creators Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe.

In the Frieren illustration, Fern and Frieren kneel beside the chest while Stark stands behind it with chocolate raised to his mouth. Yazawa’s portrait of Nana Osaki takes a different approach: a partly opened chocolate wrapper, rings and a studded wrist cuff stand out against a brown geometric background.

Hojo draws Ryo Saeba and Kaori Makimura back-to-back. Ryo extends a large wrapped Meiji chocolate bar toward the viewer, while Kaori raises another beside her head and holds a piece of chocolate between her lips.

A century told through wrappers and advertisements

Meiji Milk Chocolate launched on September 13, 1926, and reached its 100th anniversary on September 13, 2026. The December exhibition will trace those years through a timeline, historical packaging, advertisements and books.

It will also introduce people connected with the brand, including Taku Izumi, who wrote and composed the Meiji Chocolate Theme. A giant wall printed with images of real chocolate blocks is planned for the entrance.

The historical panel preview, titled “The Birth of Meiji Milk Chocolate,” brings together an early chocolate label, an open notebook and archival photographs of production equipment and a factory.

A chocolate city built with stickers

The artist section will feature works and messages from 21 artists, spanning painting, sculpture and unusual materials. In Chocolate Town, Yukino Omura turns the resemblance between chocolate-bar blocks and building windows into a futuristic cityscape.

Omura describes creating the scene with round stickers, using special cutting-sheet stickers in places to add gloss. Chocolate-patterned buildings rise beneath a vivid blue sky and pink clouds.

The anniversary artworks and messages, including the manga collaborations, have been available on Meiji’s official brand site since October 28, 2026. You can explore them before the exhibition opens—or without making a trip to Tokyo.

Choose your date before buying a ticket

The exhibition runs December 23–30, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with last entry at 7:30 p.m. The venue is Hall E2 at Tokyo International Forum, 3-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. All times are local.

Advance tickets cost ¥500 and door tickets ¥700, both tax included; preschoolers enter free. Advance sales began on October 29 at 10 a.m. through Lawson Ticket and e+, with an additional ticket-issuance fee. Door tickets will be sold at the entrance gate.

One Meiji Milk Chocolate bar will be given out per ticket. Photo spots and a merchandise area are also planned.

Purchased admission dates cannot be changed, and tickets cannot be cancelled or refunded. Talk-event guests, schedules and details will be announced later; those announcements do not permit date changes or refunds. Speakers and event content may also change without notice.