TOKYO, Japan — The judging committee for the prestigious 71st Shogakukan Manga Awards has unveiled its list of nominees, featuring 11 acclaimed titles including the highly anticipated “DAN DA DAN,” “Cosmos,” and “Firefly Wedding.” The nominations, announced on Wednesday, set the stage for one of Japan’s most significant annual manga accolades, with winners slated to be revealed in late January.
The Shogakukan Manga Awards, established in 1955, is recognized as one of Japan’s oldest and most esteemed honors for serialized manga. Each winning work will receive a bronze statuette and a prize of 1 million yen, approximately US$6,450. This year marks a continuation of a recent change in the award’s structure, as Shogakukan ceased dividing nominees into specific genre categories in 2023, starting with the 69th edition. This shift aims to foster a greater diversity of storytelling and artistic styles across all submissions.
Spotlight on Key Nominees
Among the 11 works vying for the top honor, “DAN DA DAN” by Yukinobu Tatsu, serialized in Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+, has garnered significant attention for its unique blend of action, sci-fi, and supernatural elements. Another prominent title, “Cosmos” by Ryūhei Tamura, from Shogakukan’s Sunday GX, also made the list, showcasing its compelling narrative. “Firefly Wedding” by Oreko Tachibana, published in Manga One (Shogakukan), further highlights the breadth of genres recognized this year.
Additional nominees include “Uchi no Inu ga Koneko Hiroimashita.” (Dog Meets Baby Cats!!) by Sayuri Tatsuyama (Cheese!, Shogakukan), “Unmei no Makimodo Shi” by Fūta Kimura (Monthly Coro Coro Comics, Shogakukan), and “Fall in Love, You False Angels” by Coco Uzuki (Dessert, Kodansha). Tsutomu Takahashi’s “Jumbo Max” (Big Comic, Shogakukan) and Natsumi Eguchi’s “Dekin no Mogura: The Earthbound Mole” (Kodansha) are also among the selected works, representing a wide array of publishing houses and creative voices.
The Evolution of the Shogakukan Manga Awards
Historically, the Shogakukan Manga Award honored serialized manga across distinct categories such as Children’s, Shōnen (boys’), Shōjo (girls’), and General. This categorical division allowed for recognition tailored to specific reader demographics and artistic conventions within each genre. However, the decision to unify the nominations into a single open category since the 69th awards in 2023 reflects a broader industry trend towards acknowledging outstanding manga regardless of traditional demographic labels. This change promotes a more inclusive and diverse selection process, celebrating a wider spectrum of artistic achievement and narrative innovation.
The Shogakukan Manga Award holds a revered place in the Japanese publishing landscape, having celebrated influential creators and stories that have significantly shaped Japanese pop culture for decades. Its rigorous selection process involves nominations from a diverse panel of judges, including manga artists, critics, editors, cultural organizations, booksellers, and general readers. These recommendations undergo critical discussion before a final judging committee deliberates to determine the winners, emphasizing artistic merit, narrative depth, and cultural impact.
Manga enthusiasts eagerly await the announcement of the winners in late January, which will further cement the legacies of the chosen works in the rich history of Japanese comics.
