The is a semi-annual

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

award offered by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese publisher

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

since 1971, under the auspices of its ''

Weekly Shonen Jump Weekly, The Weekly, or variations, may refer to: News media * ''Weekly'' (news magazine), an English-language national news magazine published in Mauritius *Weekly newspaper, any newspaper published on a weekly schedule *Alternative newspaper, als ...

'' magazine. It awarded new manga artists in the

Story Manga Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

category. Its counterpart award,

Akatsuka Award The is the name of a semi-annual award presented to mangaka by the Japanese publisher Shueisha. The award has been given since 1974 and it aims to reward new Mangaka, manga artist in the comedy manga category. Its counterpart award, Tezuka Award, ...

, awards new manga artists in the Comedic Manga category. The award is named after the manga pioneer

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

and is designed to cultivate new artists. The prize for a top Selected Work is two million

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...

and for a lesser but still worthy work, a million yen. The award also has third place honorable mentions for contestants deemed worthy, that includes half a million yen. These cash prizes may not be awarded (as is often the case) if the judges deem none of the candidates worthy. Historically the recipients have been in their early twenties, although two notable winners were over 90 years of age.

Selection committee

Committee chair

(1971-1988) *

Fujio Akatsuka was a pioneer Japanese artist of comical manga known as the Gag Manga King. His name at birth is 赤塚藤雄, whose Japanese pronunciation is the same as 赤塚不二夫. He was born in Rehe, Manchuria, the son of a Japanese military pol ...

(1989-2008). Due to his failing health, this title was merely a formality during the years leading up to his death on August 2, 2008, with his duties handled by

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...

in his absence.

Major committee members

These are the most prominent members of the committee only. Other adjudicators are also present in the committee. *

Eiichiro Oda is a Japanese manga artist and the creator of the series ''One Piece'' (1997–present). With more than 516.5 million ''tankōbon'' copies in circulation worldwide, ''One Piece'' is both the best-selling manga in history and the best-se ...

Kazuki Takahashi , known professionally as , was a Japanese manga artist. He made his serial manga debut in 1986, and is best known as the author of ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1996 to 2004. The manga spawned a popular trading car ...

Masanori Morita is a Japanese manga artist known for his works ''Rokudenashi Blues'' and '' Rookies''. He made his debut while still in high school and was an assistant of Tetsuo Hara on ''Fist of the North Star''. Works Serialized manga * (1988–1997); ser ...

Masashi Kishimoto is a Japanese manga artist. His manga series, ''Naruto'', which was in serialization from 1999 to 2014, has sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries as of May 2019. The series has been adapted into two anime and multiple films, vi ...

Hiroyuki Asada is a Japanese manga artist who is best known for his gaslamp fantasy series '' Tegami Bachi'' ("Letter Bee"). The first manga series he created was called '' I'll'', and was a basketball series. All of Asada's manga were serialized in the monthl ...

Takehiko Inoue is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for the basketball series ''Slam Dunk (manga), Slam Dunk'' (1990–1996), and the ''jidaigeki'' manga ''Vagabond (manga), Vagabond'', which are two of List of best-selling manga, the best-selling man ...

Tezuka Productions is a Japanese animation studio founded by Osamu Tezuka in 1968. It is known for animating notable works such as '' Marvelous Melmo'', the 1980 and 2003 ''Astro Boy'' series, and '' Black Jack''. It is also the holder of the intellectual propert ...

Recipients

Notable Recipients

Yoshihiro Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. He writes under a pen name in which his first name ''Yoshihiro'' is spelled out in hiragana (よしひろ). Takahashi was born September 18, 1953, in Higashinaruse, Akita. He was very interested in drawing coming of a ...

Buichi Terasawa is a Japanese manga artist. His most famous works include ''Goku Midnight Eye'' and '' Cobra''. Career Terasawa was born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. In the early days of his career, while still unknown, his contributed comics to a magazine that ...

　(1977, for ''Daichi yo Aoku Nare'') *

Masakazu Katsura is a Japanese manga artist, known for several works of manga, including ''Wing-Man'', ''Shadow Lady'', ''DNA²'', '' Video Girl Ai'', '' I"s'', and '' Zetman''. He has also worked as character designer for '' Iria: Zeiram the Animation'', ''Ti ...

(1980, for ''Tsubasa'' and 1981, for ''Tenkousei wa Hensousei!?'') *

Takeshi Obata is a Japanese manga artist that usually works as the illustrator in collaboration with a writer. He first gained international attention for ''Hikaru no Go'' (1998–2003) with Yumi Hotta, but is better known for '' Death Note'' (2003–2006) ...

(1985, for ''500 Kōnen no Shinwa'') *

Yoshihiro Togashi is a Japanese manga artist. He began drawing manga at an early age, before being recognized for his talent by publishing company Shueisha while attending college. Togashi has authored several manga series in different genres during the past thr ...

(1986, for ''Buttobi Straight'') *

Nobuhiro Watsuki , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his samurai-themed series '' Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story'' (1994–1999), which has over 70 million copies in circulation and a sequel he is cur ...

(1987, for ''Teacher Pon'') *

(1988, for ''Kaede Purple'') *

Hiroyuki Takei is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the multicultural hit, ''Shaman King''. Career Hiroyuki Takei started drawing manga with writer EXIAD on SD Département Store Series which they created for a fanzine. Early in his career ...

* Yuuziro Sakamoto (2003)

References