SAN DIEGO, CA – Acclaimed manga artists Taiyo Matsumoto and Yuna Hirasawa have been honored with prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, with Matsumoto’s Tokyo These Days winning Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia and Hirasawa’s My Journey to Her securing the Best Digital Comic award. The winners for this year’s Eisner Awards were announced on Friday at Comic-Con International.
A Triumph for Japanese Manga
The recognition of these two distinct works highlights the continued global impact and growing appreciation for Japanese manga within the comic industry. The Eisner Awards, often referred to as the “Oscars of the comic book industry,” celebrate excellence in comics and graphic novels across numerous categories.
Tokyo These Days Crowned Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tokyo These Days, translated by Michael Arias and published by Viz Media, earned the award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia. The manga explores the intricate relationships between a manga editor, creators, art, and life in contemporary Tokyo, following a seasoned editor who quits after 30 years but finds himself drawn back into the world he tried to leave behind.
Matsumoto is a multiple Eisner Award winner, known for his experimental style and critically acclaimed works such as Tekkonkinkreet. His previous Eisner wins include Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White in 2008 and Cats of the Louvre in 2020. Tokyo These Days was among a strong field of nominees in its category, which also included Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Hereditary Triangle, Kagurabachi, Last Quarter, and Search and Destroy.
My Journey to Her Recognized as Best Digital Comic
Yuna Hirasawa’s My Journey to Her (Kodansha) won the Best Digital Comic award. This autobiographical manga chronicles Hirasawa’s personal experience with gender dysphoria and her journey from Japan to Thailand for gender-affirming surgery in 2015. The standalone volume delves into topics such as coming out to family and the solitude of traveling for such a significant life event, while also illustrating the legal and medical aspects of her transition. The manga was serialized in Kodansha’s Morning magazine from March to April 2016 and was released digitally in English by Kodansha USA in July 2024.
Other Notable Manga Nominations and Inductions
While Matsumoto and Hirasawa took home top honors, several other manga-related works were nominated across various categories. IDW’s Godzilla’s 70th Anniversary won the Best Anthology award, which also saw EC Cruel Universe and Now: The New Comics Anthology #13 nominated. Viz Media’s X-Men: The Manga Remastered was nominated for Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books.
In addition to the award winners, horror manga creator Junji Ito was inducted into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame. Ito has a notable history with the Eisner Awards, having previously won for works such as Lovesickness, Remina, Venus In The Blind Spot, and Frankenstein. The late manga creator Shigeru Mizuki was also pre-selected for induction into the Hall of Fame this year.
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, celebrating their 37th year, continue to play a vital role in highlighting the best publications and creators in the diverse world of comics and graphic novels.
