On 25 April 2017, The Asahi Shimbun announced the winning manga and author of the 21st Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. Fusako Kuramochi’s Hana ni Somu was chosen as the winner of the Manga Award, which goes to the best manga of the year.
The Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize is an award founded by The Asahi Shimbun in 1997 to celebrate the achievements of Osamu Tezuka, who played a big role in the development and improvement of Japan’s manga culture. The goal is to follow Mr. Tezuka’s will and contribute to the sound development of manga culture.
So far, Fujiko F. Fujio’s Doraemon, Naoki Urasawa’s MONSTER, Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond, Kyouko Okazaki’s Helter Skelter, Masayuki Ishikawa’s Moyasimon, Motoka Murakami’s Jin, Hitoshi Iwaaki’s Historie, Yasuhisa Hara’s Kingdom, Chika Umino’s 3-gatsu no Lion, and Kiyohiko Azuma’s Yotsuba&!, among others, have won the prestigious award.
For the 21st Prize, popular actress Anne, author Kazuki Sakuraba, and manga artist Machiko Satonaka were part of the jury. Chosen as the best manga of the year was Fusako Kuramochi’s Hana ni Somu, a love story which focuses on Kano Sogabe and Haruto Enjou who become close through Japanese archery. The Creative category, awarded to those talented artists with innovative expressions and ground-breaking themes, was given to the author of Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Haruko Kumota.Chosen for the Short Story category, awarded to four-panel or one-panel manga, was
Chosen for the Short Story category (awarded to four-panel or one-panel manga) was Kahoru Fukaya’s Yomawari Neko. Finally, the winner of the Special category (awarded to individuals or organizations who contribute to the development of manga culture) was Osamu Akimoto, the author of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, which recently completed 40 years of serialization.
The 21st Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize’ presentation ceremony will take place on 31 May 2017 from 16:00 at Asahi Hall’s Hamarikyu in Tsukiji, Tokyo.
The Asahi Shimbun, ‘Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize’ Information Page
http://www.asahi.com/shimbun/award/tezuka/
The first season of the new year is just one month away from its finale. It was a great start with many amazing titles that made these past months worth the extra hours we put in front of our sets. Now, it is time for the cold wind to give way to the pink hues of the sakura tree and for the Winter 2018 season to give the anime baton to Spring 2018.
