The official website of Japanese publisher Kodansha revealed the finalists for the 47th Kodansha Manga Award on April 10, 2023. A total of 15 manga have been shortlisted for this year’s award.

The winners will be announced on May 10, 2023.

The Kodansha manga award has three categories, namely the Shonen, Shojo and general category, the finalists of which have been given below.

Manga shortlisted in the Best Shonen category:

• Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue’s Akane Banashi (Weekly Shonen Jump)
• Saka Mikami’s Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku (Magazine Pocket)
• Kei Urana’s Gachiakuta (Weekly Shonen Magazine)
• Rina Hard & Ryosuke Fuji’s Shangri-La Frontier (Weekly Shonen Magazine)
• Masahito Soda’s Megumi no Daigo: Kyūkoku no Orange (Monthly Shonen Magazine)

Manga shortlisted in the Best Shojo category:

• Mamoru Ao’s Ano Ko no Kodomo (Bessatsu Friend)
• Mika Yamamori’s In the Clear Moonlit Dusk (Dessert)
• Yuki Shiwasu’s Tamon-kun Ima Docchi!? (Hana to Yume)
• Suu Morishita’s Yubisaki to Renren (Dessert)

Manga shortlisted in the General category:

• Yama Wayama’s Onna no Sono no Hoshi (Feel Young)
• Misaki Takamatsu’s Skip and Loafer (Monthly Afternoon)
• Shun Umezawa’s The Darwin Incident  (Monthly Afternoon)
• Tsukasa Monma and Shikako’s Manshu Ahen Squad (Weekly Young Magazine)
• Tsurumaikada’s Medalist  (Monthly Afternoon)
• Yeong-chan and Yusaku Takemura’s Liaison: Kodomo no Kokoro Shinryoujo (Morning)

The Kodansha Manga Award, sponsored by publishing giants Kodansha, is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year.

 Fuse, Yasuki Kawakami, Mitz Vah’s That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime won the best shonen manga in the 45th Kodansha Manga award (2021).  Rikichi‘s Nina the Starry Bride  won the best shojo manga and Miko Yasu‘s Police in a Pod won the best manga in the general category.

Kodansha Manga Awards began in 1977, with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the general category was in 1982. Kodansha introduced a children’s category award in 2003. However, it was merged into the shōnen and shōjo categories starting in 2015.

Source: Kodansha, Comic Natalie