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Yuria's Red String Manga, Ganpu, Ebine Yamaji, Kazuo Umezu Win Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The Asahi Shimbun paper announced the winners for the 27th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize awards on Tuesday. The awards commemorate the contributions of the manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy/Mighty Atom, Kimba the White Lion/Jungle Emperor, Phoenix, Black Jack) by recognizing the manga that best follow his tradition.
Grand Prize
Kiwa Irie
Kodansha (Be Love, February 2018-2022)
The manga follows 50-year-old Irie, a ballet dancer who got into the art through her sister long ago. Now she lives a simple but happy life teaching handicrafts and living together with a writer husband. When her husband has a medical emergency due to a haemorrhage, she rushes to the hospital, only to find a mysterious young man by her husband's side. When Irie's husband does not wake up, the young man confesses that he is the lover of Irie's husband
New Creator Prize
Ganpu
Shogakukan (Sunday Webry, 2021-present)
The autobiographical manga chronicles author Ganpu's battle with cancer, which he has been battling for the past three years, shortly after one of his manga volumes received a reprint due to sales in January 2019.
Short Work Prize
Ebine Yamaji
Kadokawa (Comic Beam, January 2022-June 2022)
The manga tells a series of short stories about 10-year-old girls from various countries - such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, India, and Japan - with different religions, cultures, and values.
In addition, Kazuo Umezu won a special prize in honor of Zoku Shingo: Chiisana Robot Shingo Bijutsukan (Sequel Shingo: Small Robot Shingo Art Museum) in 2022, his first new publication in 27 years. The work is a sequel to his Watashi wa Shingo (My Name Is Shingo) manga and is a series of 101 acrylic paintings.
Asahi Shimbun scheduled an awards ceremony in Tokyo on June 8. The Grand Prize winner will receive a bronze statue and 2 million yen (about US$14,800), while the other winners will each receive a bronze statue and 1 million yen (about US$7,400).
This year's judging committee – manga creator Osamu Akimoto, manga creator Machiko Satonaka, entertainer Minami Takahashi, writer and Tohoku University of Art and Design instructor Yukiko Tomiyama, professor and scholar Shōhei Chūjō, manga critic Nobunaga Minami, and comedian and manga creator Taro Yabe – selected the nominees from titles recommended by specialists and bookstore employees. To be eligible, the manga had to have had a compiled volume published in 2022.
Last year, nine titles were nominated, and Uoto's Chi -Chikyū no Undō ni Tsuite- won the Grand Prize. Natsuko Taniguchi's Kyōshitsu no Katasumi de Seishun wa Hajimaru won the New Creator prize, and Izumi Okaya's Ii Toshi o and Hakumokuren wa Kirei ni Chiranai won the Short Work Prize.
Sources: Asahi Shimbun, Oricon
