A special exhibit called "The World of Anno Hideaki" was held July 17 - Aug. 3, 1998, in Anno's hometown of Ube, in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The event was sponsored by SHADO, the animation group to which Anno belonged in high school. Anno himself had an autograph session on July 26, with numerous fans and locals alike attending, and a grand time was had by all.

People gathering at the Eva merchandise concession stand in front of the event hall. Although Eva was apparently not broadcast in Ube, it was nonetheless pretty popular.

Cels, posters, and other memorabilia inside the hall make this a true exhibition. Productions from the DAICON FILM era were screened and appreciated by many.

The autograph session was limited to 50 persons, but far and away more than that many people showed up in a crush. Some hardcore fans stayed there from the previous night (and from as far away as Tochigi Prefecture). As a result of these lines, the exhibition was pretty successful. Later, Anno got onstage after a screening of "Love & Pop".

In addition to Neon Genesis Evangelion, materials from such past GAINAX productions as Nadia of the Seas of Wonder/The Secret of Blue Water, Top o Nerae!/GunBuster, and The Royal Space Force were shown, along with key animation from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and amateur features made during Anno's high school and college days. Numerous items were unearthed from GAINAX's storage vaults for this exhibit, and Anno's fans were genuinely thrilled.

There was also a section selling Eva merchandise. Everything from character merchandise to videos to DVDs were there, and it was all a hit!