The Manga Taishō (マンガ大賞, transl. Cartoon Grand Prize) is a Japanese comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer collected volumes in length.[1] The Manga Taishō was founded with the aim of recognizing new and relatively unestablished manga, and to provide a platform to promote these works to new readers. To this end, the prize utilizes a judging criteria of recognizing manga one would "want to recommend to friends", rather than a strictly meritocratic evaluation of artistic excellence.[2]
The prize is presented by the Manga Taishō Executive Committee, a volunteer group of roughly one hundred "manga lovers from all walks of life",[3] primarily bookstore workers who manage in-store manga sections.[1][2] Individuals directly involved with the manga industry, such as manga artists, authors, book designers, and editors, are barred from sitting on the committee;[4] this distinguishes the Manga Taishō from the majority of the other major manga industry awards, which are typically organized by a specific publishing company and voted on by the company's editors.[2] The Manga Taishō was established by Nippon Broadcasting System news announcer Hisanori Yoshida [ja], who sought to create a prize as a manga equivalent of the Japan Booksellers' Award, a similarly structured award which recognizes literature.[2]
The voting system, also based on that of the Japan Booksellers' Award, is divided into two rounds.[2] In the first round, each committee member nominates five titles, and the top ten titles are shortlisted for the prize. In the event of a tie, both titles are nominated and the shortlist is lengthened;[1] the largest shortlist was in 2012, with fifteen nominees.[5] The second round is a ranked vote, where each member reads each nominated work at their own expense, and selects their top three choices in order of preference. Points are assigned based on rank (three points for first preference, two for second, one for third), the rankings are aggregated, and the title with the most points wins.[4] Winning titles cannot be re-nominated in subsequent years.[3] The Manga Taishō does not award a cash prize, though winning titles are promoted heavily in bookstores across Japan; the prize is thus recognized as being a significant sales driver for manga,[2] and winning titles are frequently adapted into anime or television dramas.[6]
^ abcdef「マンガ大賞2020」発表間近! 発起人・吉田尚記に聞く [Manga Grand Prize 2020 to be Announced Soon! Interview with Naoki Yoshida, Founder]. What's In? Tokyo (in Japanese). March 5, 2020. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
^ ab「マンガ大賞2009」ノミネート作決定 [Nominated works for "Manga Grand Prize 2009" are announced]. Oricon (in Japanese). January 19, 2009. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
^ abKai, Yuki (March 28, 2008). マンガ好き有志による「マンガ大賞2008」が発表。第1回大賞は「岳」 ["Manga Grand Prize 2008" by volunteer manga lovers is announced. The first grand prize was awarded to "Gaku"]. Impress Watch [ja] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
^ abマンガ大賞:「マンガの直木賞」ノミネート15作発表 「銀の匙」「グラゼニ」など [Manga Grand Prize: 15 nominated works for "Naoki Prize for Manga" announced, including "Silver Spoon" and "Gurazeni"]. Mantan Web (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. January 16, 2012. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^ abマンガ大賞2008決定 石塚真一氏 「岳」に [Manga Grand Prize 2008 awarded to Shinichi Ishizuka for "Gaku"]. AnimeAnime.jp (in Japanese). March 28, 2008. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞2009発表!大賞は末次「ちはやふる」 [Manga Grand Prize 2009 announced! Grand Prize goes to Suetsugu's "Chihayafuru"]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 24, 2009. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞2010はヤマザキマリ「テルマエ・ロマエ」 [Manga Grand Prize 2010 goes to Mari Yamazaki's "Thermae Romae"]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. May 17, 2010. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^"羽海野チカ「3月のライオン」 今年のマンガ大賞に決定" [Chika Umino's "March Lion" won this year's Manga Grand Prize]. AnimeAnime.jp (in Japanese). March 17, 2011. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞:海街diaryが大賞 [Manga Grand Prize: Umimachi Diary wins Grand Prize]. Mantan Web (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. March 21, 2013. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞2014は森薫「乙嫁語り」に決定 [Manga Grand Prize 2014 goes to Kaoru Mori's "A Bride's Story"]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 27, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞2015は東村アキコ「かくかくしかじか」に決定 [Manga Grand Prize 2015 goes to Akiko Higashimura's "Kakukaku Shikajika"]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 24, 2015. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞2018:板垣巴留の「BEASTARS」が大賞に 秋田書店で初 [Manga Grand Prize 2018: Itagaki Tomoe's "BEASTARS" Wins Grand Prize, First for Akita Shoten]. Mantan Web (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. March 22, 2018. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^篠原健太「彼方のアストラ」マンガ大賞2019に輝く [Kenta Shinohara's "Astra Beyond" Shines in Manga Grand Prize 2019]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞2020は山口つばさ「ブルーピリオド」に決定 [Manga Grand Prize 2020 goes to Tsubasa Yamaguchi's "Blue Period"]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 16, 2020. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞2021、大賞は山田鐘人・アベツカサ「葬送のフリーレン」 [Manga Grand Prize 2021, Grand Prize goes to Yamada Kaneto and Abetsukasa, "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End"]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 16, 2021. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^マンガ大賞2022発表!大賞はうめざわしゅん「ダーウィン事変」 [Manga Grand Prize 2022 Announced! The Grand Prize goes to "Darwin Incident" by Jun Umezawashi]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 28, 2022. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^とよ田みのる「これ描いて死ね」マンガ大賞2023の大賞受賞 [Minoru Toyoda's Kore Kaite Shine Wins Grand Prize at Manga Awards 2023]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 27, 2023. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
^「マンガ大賞2024」ノミネート10作品を発表 [Announcement of 10 works nominated for Manga Taisho 2024]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 23, 2024. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.