Anime and Japanese pop culture are extremely popular in America, and Asia Society Texas (1370 Southmore) is celebrating their enduring legacies with a new exhibit. The House of Pikachu: Art, Anime, and Pop Culture, opening October 17.

On display through March 15, 2026, The House of Pikachu illustrates how 25 artists from around the world incorporate anime's signature elements — including flatness, saturated colors, and stylized features — into 21st century pop art. The exhibit both honor's the genre's pioneers and showcases its continuing cultural relevance by highlights anime's strange, otherworldly, and supernatural dimensions.

“Much of my youth was shaped by a love for Japanese pop culture: binging on Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon, and Final Fantasy," said Owen Duffy, Nancy C. Allen Gallery curator and director of exhibitions, in a statement. "In my recent years, I’ve realized I'm far from alone in my nostalgia for these classics and admiration for the art of animation. By encountering these energetic works of contemporary art, I hope viewers will recognize how global anime has become, and that pop culture is an enduring inspiration for artistic expression."

One of the most exciting acquisitions is a massive creation on aluminum with car paint called "Time and Light" by famed Japanese illustrator Yoshitaka Amano. Amano began his career as an animator on Speed Racer, but his most notable pop culture work would be the title and character illustrations in the Final Fantasy video game series. His ethereal figures helped shape the identity of the franchise for decades, cementing him as one of the world's greatest fantasy artists and setting the bar for the entire Japanese Role Playing Game genre.

The exhibit will host several Houston-centric pieces. Local artist Gao Hang created a new entry in his retro-futuristic ouvere featuring the show's mascot, Pokemon's Pikachu. Monsieur Zohore, an artist based between the United States and Cote D'Ivoire, will be showing a massive anime-inspired mural called "Houston, We Have a Problem," full of characters from Naruto, Akira, Dragon Ball Z, Inuyasha , Berserk, Mobile Suit Gundam, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Gurren Lagann, and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

“Anime was my first passport," said Zohore. "It connected me to kids in Abidjan and in the U.S. — a shared language of transformation that transcended geography, language, and shame. Long before I understood difference, I understood what it meant to go Super Saiyan in times of crisis. Anime didn’t just entertain me; it taught me how to survive, how to perform, how to belong. It metabolized trauma into critique — and gave me permission to do the same.”

Other artists featured in the show include Chiho Aoshima, Daniel Arsham, Emily Yong Beck, Katherine Bernhardt, Julien Ceccaldi, CFGNY, Chim↑Pom from Smappa!Group, Maya Fuji, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Gao Hang, Loc Huynh, Teppei Kaneuji, Izumi Kato, Taylor Lee, Jarod Lew, Ileana Moreno, Yoshitomo Nara, Robert Nava, Otani Workshop, Rozeal., Keiichi Tanaami, Andrew Norman Wilson, and Yuli Yamagata.

The gallery is open daily from 10 am-5 pm Wednesday, and Friday-Sunday and 12-7 pm on Thursday. Admission to The House of Pikachu is $8.