The 26th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize sponsored by Asahi Shimbun nominated the top nine manga works for the “Manga Award” on Friday, Feb 18, 2022.

The nominees include:

• Oshi no Ko written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari
• Kaiju No. 8 by Naoya Matsumoto
• JoJolion by Hirohiko Araki
• Takaoka Shinno Kokai by Yoko Kondo, original story by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa
• Chi: Chikyu no Undo ni Tsuite by Uoto
• Futaro Fusen Nikki by Bun Katsuta, original story by Futaro Yamada
• Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise by Kazuyoshi Takeda
• Bokyo Taro by Yoshihiro Yamada
• Do Not Say Mystery by Yumi Tamura

The nominees were chosen on the basis of the manga that has a compiled volume published in Japan in 2021.

Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise by Kazuyoshi Takeda has been nominated for the grand prize for the second year in a row, although it did not win in 2021.

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 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 Shōhei Chūjō, manga critic Nobunaga Minami, and comedian and manga creator Taro Yabe (Prince of the Stars).

The winners will be announced in late April, and an award ceremony will be held on June 2, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan.

The Grand Prize winner will get a bronze statue and 2 million yen (about US$19,000), with the other winners receiving a bronze statue and 1 million yen (approximately US$9,000).

Last year, Kazumi Yamashita‘s Land won the Grand Prize. The New Creator prize went to Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe‘s Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and the Short Work Prize went to Hiroko Nobara‘s Kieta Mama Tomo and Tsuma wa Kuchi o Kiite Kuremasen. The committee also gave Koyoharu Gotouge‘s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga the Special Prize.

Named after Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy/Mighty Atom, Kimba the White Lion/Jungle Emperor, Phoenix, Black Jack), 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.

Source: Asahi Shimbun via ANN