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Land of the Lustrous Manga Wins Sense of Gender Award

The Japanese Association for Gender, Fantasy, & Science Fiction awarded Haruko Ichikawa's Land of the Lustrous manga the top prize in the Sense of Gender Awards on Sunday. The association also gave Shunshō Utsugi's Kanshō Fantasmagorie short story collection its special award.

Similar to the Otherwise Award in the United States, the Sense of Gender Awards honor science fiction or fantasy that expanded or explored our understanding of gender in the preceding calendar year. The first of the awards were given out for works published in 2001.

Kodansha accepted the award on Ichikawa's behalf during Sunday's ceremony and presented a message of gratitude for the honor from the manga creator. Despite the story revolving around future beings without reproduction or gender, Ichikawa noted trying to instill both a sense of continuity with the ancient being known as "humans," and the unique social nature developed by these future beings.

The association announced the winners of the Sense of Gender Awards at the 63rd Japan Science Fiction Convention (Nihon SF Taikai or Japan SF Con, nicknamed Kama-Con this year). The attendees of the same convention awarded Land of the Lustrous with the Best Comic award, Miya Kazuki's Ascendance of a Bookworm with the Best Japanese Long Story award, and manga creator Kia Asamiya with the Best Artist award.

Some previous winners of the Sense of Gender Awards include The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe, Raven of the Inner Palace, An Older Guy's VR First Love, and The Promised Neverland. The association also awarded Fumi Yoshinaga's Ōoku manga with a Sense of Gender Hall of Fame award in 2022 and Fumiyo Kouno's In This Corner of the World manga and anime film adaptation with the "Transcending Time Award" in 2017. Moto Hagio recevied a Lifetime Achievement Award in tribute to her Nanohana manga and her body of work as a whole in 2013. In 2012, the association awarded Puella Magi Madoka Magica with one of two Sisterhood Awards, and Guin Saga creator Kaoru Kurimoto/Azusa Nakajima received a posthumous Distinguished Service Award in 2009.

Ichikawa launched Land of the Lustrous in Kodansha's Afternoon magazine in 2012. Kodansha published the 13th compiled book volume in November 2024. The manga ended in April 2024.

Kodansha USA Publishing is releasing the manga in English.

The 12-episode anime adaptation of the manga premiered in October 2017. HIDIVE streamed the series outside of the United States and Canada as it aired, and added the anime for the United States and Canada starting in June 2018. Amazon's now-defunct Anime Strike service streamed the series in the United States and Canada as it aired. Sentai Filmworks released the anime in a steelbook complete collection in January 2019.

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of Japan gave Land of the Lustrous the grand prize in the group's 45th Nihon SF Taishō Awards earlier this year.

Source: 63rd Japanese Science Fiction Convention's closing ceremony