Danica Davidson
August 23, 2024 
The winners of the inaugural American Manga Awards, as decided by people working in American manga publishing, have been revealed. Let’s take a look at the results!
For starters, the American Manga Awards Hall of Fame inducted Frederik L. Schodt in honor of his work bringing manga to the English-speaking masses. Schodt worked with Osamu Tezuka and penned the book Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics.
The award for Best New Manga went to #DRCL midnight children by Shin’ichi Sakamoto. VIZ Media gave this description for it:
As Mina struggles to find her place as Whitby School’s first and only female student, a devilish horror is unleashed upon the academy and its unsuspecting students: Count Dracula. However, when this unspeakable evil lays claim to her beloved Lucy Westenra, Mina stands ready to join forces with her fellow students and fight against it with everything she has.
The Best Continuing Manga Series Award was nabbed by Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui. Yen Press gave this description for it:
When young adventurer Laios and his company are attacked and soundly thrashed by a dragon deep in a dungeon, the party loses all its money and provisions…and a member! They’re eager to go back and save her, but there is just one problem: If they set out with no food or coin to speak of, they’re sure to starve on the way! But Laios comes up with a brilliant idea: “Let’s eat the monsters!” Slimes, basilisks, and even dragons…none are safe from the appetites of these dungeon-crawling gourmands!
Best New Edition of Classic Manga honored Neighborhood Story by Ai Yazawa. VIZ Media gave this description for it:
Peppy and creative teenager Mikako wants nothing more than to make it as a fashion designer. But when she enters art school alongside her lifelong friend Tsutomu, she finds herself distracted by his sudden popularity and subsequent love life. Despite her feelings, Mikako forms a club with Tsutomu and her friends to sell their creations at a local flea market. While the group is out scouting the flea market, however, discord arises between members in the group and what begins as an exciting day quickly turns sour.
The American Manga Awards honored people as well as titles. Best Translation went to Stephen Kohler for his translation of Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama, while Lys Blakeslee received Best Lettering for her work on the same title. Kodansha gave this description for the manga:
In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch…until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem…
The final award, Best Publication Design, was given to Adam Grano for his work on My Name Is Shingo by Kazuo Umezz. VIZ Media gave this description for the manga:
When an industrial robot named Monroe begins to work at his father’s factory, Satoru is fascinated. As he and his friend Marin spend more time with Monroe, they start to suspect there’s much more to the machine than anyone else realizes. But neither children nor adults are prepared for Monroe’s violent awakening into consciousness.
Scholastic Graphix, VIZ Media, Hoopla, and Saturday AM all acted as sponsors. Anime NYC and Japan Society were behind the event.
Source: Press release
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
