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Mari Yamazaki, Miki Tori's Historical Manga PLINIVS Wins Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize

The Asahi Shimbun paper announced the winners for the 28th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize awards on Monday. The awards commemorate the contributions of the manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy/Mighty Atom, Kimba the White Lion/Jungle Emperor, Phoenix, Black Jack) by recognizing the manga that best follow his tradition.

Grand Prize

PLINIVS
Mari Yamazaki, Miki Tori
Shinchosha
The manga centers on the titular Pliny the Elder, an eccentric natural historian, praefectus classis (fleet commander) in the Roman Navy, philosopher, and lover of baths.

Yamazaki and Tori's illustrations celebrating the award:

New Creator Prize

Kanda Gokura-chō Shokunin-Banashi (Stories of the Artisans of Kanda's Gokura Town)
Akihito Sakaue
LEED Publishing
The manga follows the artisans of Edo-era Tokyo, including a barrel maker, swordsmith, fabric dyer, tatami mat weaver, and plasterer.

Sakaue's illustration celebrating the award:

Short Work Prize

Tsuyukusa Natsuko no Isshō (The Life of Natsuko Tsuyukusa)
Miri Masuda
Shinchosha
Set in the COVID-19 era, the manga follows Natsuko, a 32-year-old aspiring manga creator spending her second spring behind a face mask.

Masuda's illustration celebrating the award:

Comitia Committee, the voluntary organization that runs a dōjinshi convention exclusively for original works four times a year, won this year's special prize for contributing to the cultural spread of manga.

This year's Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize judging committee – manga creator Osamu Akimoto, manga creator Machiko Satonaka, 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 – selected the nominees from titles recommended by specialists and bookstore employees. To be eligible, the manga had to have had a compiled volume published in 2023.

Asahi Shimbun scheduled an awards ceremony in Tokyo on June 6. The Grand Prize winner will receive a bronze statue and 2 million yen (about US$13,300), while the other winners will each receive a bronze statue and 1 million yen (about US$6,600).

Last year, nine titles were nominated, and Kiwa Irie's Yuria's Red String won the Grand Prize. Gump's Danchōtei Nichijō won the New Creator prize, and Ebine Yamaji's Onna no Ko ga Iru Basho wa won the Short Work Prize.

Sources: Asahi Shimbun, Comic Natale