Four manga were announced as recipients of the 69th Shogakukan Manga Award. Among them is the fantasy manga Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, which is currently airing a television anime adaptation of Madhouse and Bocchi the Rock! director Keiichirou Saitou.
Other Shogakukan Manga Award winners are The Elusive Samurai, Suuji de Asobo (Play With Numbers) and Trillion Game. The first and second parts are about to be adapted into anime.
Frieren: Journey’s End (written by Kanehito Yamada, drawn by Tsukasa Abe) depicts the journey of a long-lived elf after the death of an old companion of 10 years inspires change in her. The manga began serialization in Weekly Shonen Sunday in 2020 and won the grand prize of Manga Taisho 2021. Viz Media has the English license.
The elusive samurai (Yusei Matsui) is set in feudal Japan and follows young boy Hojo Tokiyuki who is forced to flee and seek revenge after Ashikaga Takauji overthrows the Kamakura shogunate. It began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2021 and is also licensed by Viz.
Suuji de Asobo by Murako Kinuta debuted in Monthly Flowers magazine in 2018 and follows the struggles of a young man with a university math degree. Finally, Trillion Game (written by Riichirou Inagaki and drawn by Ryouichi Ikegami) is about two friends who join forces with the aim of making a trillion dollars. It began serialization in Big Comics Superior in 2020 and has inspired a live-action television series.
Shogakukan previously revealed the 12 finalists for the 69th Shogakukan Manga Award in December 2023. The other finalists are:
→ Unmei no Makimodoshi by Fuuta Kimura (Corocoro Comic)
à Kyou kara Papa wa Kamisama desu. belong to Mitsuki Teramoto (Ciao)
→ Black Girls Talk by Nomaki Makino (Manga One)
Nikki’s Shujinkou
à Koori no Jouheki’s Koucha Agasawa (Margaret)
Zom 100: List of groups Dead by Haro Aso and Koutaro Takata (Sunday GX)
Shoujiki Fudousan’s Akira Ootani, Takeshi Natsuhara and Mitsuhiro Mizuno (Big comic)
Ya Boy Kongming! belong to Yuuto Yotsuba and Ryou Ogawa (Young Magazine)
Source: Shogakukan