The nominees under the Grand Prize category for 27th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize were announced on the official website of Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun on Feb 20, 2023. A total of eight manga were nominated.

Checkout the nominees below:

Umi ga Hashiru End Roll by John Tarachine

Publisher: Akita Shoten

Onnanoko ga Iru Basho wa by Ebine Yamaji

Publisher: KADOKAWA

SPY × FAMILY by Tatsuya Endo

Publisher: Shueisha

Takopi’s Original Sin by Taizan 5

Publisher: Shueisha

Cesare: Il Creatore che ha distrutto by Fuyumi Soryo

Publisher: Kodansha

Tokyo Higoro by Taiyo Matsumoto

Publisher: Shogakukan

Hirayasumi by Keigo Shinzo

Publisher: Shogakukan

Yuria-sensei no Akai Ito by Kiwa Irie

Publisher: Kodansha

The judges for this year’s award nominations included manga creator Osamu Akimoto (Kochikame), manga creator Machiko Satonaka (Machiko’s One Thousand and One Nights), entertainer Minami Takahashi, writer and Tohoku University of Art and Design instructor Yukiko Tomiyama, professor and scholar Shohei Chujo, manga critic Nobunaga Minami, and comedian and manga creator Taro Yabe (Prince of the Stars).

The nominees were chosen by this year’s judging committee, from titles recommended by people in the manga business including specialists, editors, and bookstore employees.

The winner will be announced on Asahi Shimbun newspaper and digital format in April 2023, and the award ceremony will be held on June 8, 2023, at Asahi Shimbun Tokyo headquarters.

Moreover, votes to predict the Manga Grand Prize winner will be held, and 50 people, among those who have voted for the winning manga, will be selected by a lottery and given 27th Commemorative Pin Badge.

Named after Osamu Tezuka, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan.

The categories for Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize are:

• Grand Prize – for the excellent work during the year
• Creative Award – for the creator with innovative or epoch-making expression and fresh talent
• Short story Award – for the excellent work or creator of the short story
• Special Award – for the person or group who contributed to extend the culture of manga

Source: Asahi Shimbun, Comic Natalie