Studio MAPPA has marked its 15th anniversary with a landmark cultural milestone, welcoming Hollywood icon Tom Cruise and acclaimed director Alejandro G. Iñárritu to the ongoing MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary exhibition in Tokyo. The high-profile visit brought together cinematic and animation royalty for an exclusive creative exchange with veteran animator Tadashi Hiramatsu.
Walking through the expansive exhibition spaces, Cruise expressed visible excitement, noting his anticipation for the event, while Iñárritu revealed with a smile that his son is a massive fan of the studio's catalog. The duo spent considerable time examining detailed production materials from Jujutsu Kaisen and the upcoming Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, marveling at the meticulous hand-drawn framing, camera angles, and compositional depth characteristic of modern Japanese animation production.
Creative Dialogue with Tadashi HiramatsuThe highlight of the visit featured a sit-down discussion between the Hollywood filmmakers and animator Tadashi Hiramatsu against the backdrop of the exhibition's centerpiece installations. Hiramatsu shared his deep appreciation for Iñárritu and Cruise's upcoming film Digger, praising its atmospheric camera work, color grading, and meticulous sound design. In response, Iñárritu emphasized the conceptual parallels between live-action filmmaking and animation, noting that every single frame and set piece in their production was constructed with the same rigorous world-building logic found in high-end anime.
The exchange also touched upon technical methodologies, with Cruise inquiring about the prevalence of traditional hand-drawn animation versus digital workflows among younger generations of artists. Hiramatsu affirmed the enduring value of starting with pencil and paper, a sentiment strongly echoed by Cruise, who noted that tactile artistic mediums preserve the raw human voice of the creator.
To commemorate the meeting, Hiramatsu presented the filmmakers with a bespoke, hand-drawn illustration of the protagonist Digger Rockwell, inscribed with the phrase "There is TRUTH within a LIE." The gesture visibly delighted both creators, who praised the crossover between mediums before touring remaining exhibits dedicated to major titles like Attack on Titan Final Season.
The MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary runs at the Yurakucho Museum in Tokyo through December 7, 2026, offering fans an unprecedented look behind the scenes of one of the industry's most prolific and visually distinctive animation powerhouses.
