The publisher Kodansha revealed the winners of its 49th edition, awarding the best of shōnen, shōjo and general manga.
On Monday, May 6, the renowned Japanese publisher Kodansha announced the winners of its 49th edition of the Kodansha Manga Awards, highlighting the most influential works of the year in three main categories: best shōnen manga, best shōjo manga and best overall manga.
“Versus” wins the award for Best Shōnen Manga
The series “Versus,” created by the popular ONE with Kyōtarō Azuma and BOSE, was recognized as the best shōnen play of the year. This title beat out strong contenders such as Wind Breaker, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity, Kagurabachi, Orion’s Board, and Fermat no Ryōri.
Shōjo “Fall in Love, You False Angels” Gets Applause
In the shōjo category, Coco Uzuki’s “Fall in Love, You False Angels” won the highest recognition. The story beat out other nominated titles such as How I Met My Soulmate, The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride, Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me, and Gazing at the Star Next Door.
“Historie” is consecrated as Best General Manga
In the overall category, veteran Hitoshi Iwaaki — known for his work Parasyte — was awarded for his manga “Historie.” This historical series surpassed works such as Under Ninja, Onna no Sono no Hoshi, Spacewalking With You and Nezumi no Hatsukoi.
Awards and luxury jury
This year’s winners received an official certificate and a bronze statue. In addition, the prize money was 2 million yen (about 12,780 euros) for the shōnen category, while the shōjo and general winners got 1 million yen (about 6,390 euros).
The selection committee was made up of great figures of the industry such as Natsumi Ando (Something’s Wrong With Us), Tsunami Umino (The Full-Time Wife Escapist), Etsushi Ogawa (Cooking Master Boy), Kōji Kumeta (Kakushigoto), Kaoru Hayamine (Mirage Queen novels), Norifusa Mita (Dragon Zakura) and Makoto Yukimura (Vinland Saga).
An evolving tradition
Since 2015, Kodansha has eliminated the category of best children’s manga, integrating its nominated works into the shōnen and shōjo sections. In the previous edition, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End won the award for best shōnen, I See Your Face, Turned Away won as best shōjo and Medalist stood out as best overall manga.
