Gallery Fake

Nestled on a wharf along Tokyo Bay sits a modest art gallery known as Gallery Fake. Its owner, Reiji Fujita, was once a highly respected curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Renowned for his remarkable memory, keen aesthetic sense, exceptional painting restoration skills, and fluency in multiple languages, he earned the nickname "the Professor." However, following workplace troubles, Fujita was forced to leave the museum behind. Now operating as an art dealer, Fujita sells both authentic masterpieces and flawless counterfeits at extraordinary prices. His guiding philosophy is unforgiving: those who lack aesthetic sense deserve to be deceived, for only through being cheated can one truly learn to distinguish the genuine from the fake. Yet, beneath this cynical exterior, Fujita is no ordinary villain driven by greed. He harbors a profound reverence for art and the creators who dedicated their lives to it. Whether reclaiming stolen works from corrupt politicians who treat paintings as mere bribes or painstakingly restoring destroyed canvases, Fujita consistently touches the lives of everyone he encounters, drawing people to him despite his gruff demeanor. In 1996, Gallery Fake was honored with the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award.