Inaugural American Manga Awards

On August 22, 2024, Japan Society and Anime NYC launched the first-ever American Manga Awards.

As manga sales continue to grow in the North American market, the American Manga Awards were designed to recognize the manga creators, stories, and publishing professionals who make it possible for readers in North America to discover and enjoy this medium in English.

The awards were designed and judged by committees of industry leaders, and ran the gamut of manga creation and publication, with recognition for categories including:

Best New Manga
Best Continuing Manga Series
Best New Edition of Classic Manga
Best Translation
Best Lettering
Best Publication Design

Winners included #DRCL midnight children (VIZ Media) by Shin’ichi Sakamoto for Best New Manga, Delicious in Dungeon (Yen Press) by Ryoko Kui for Best Continuing Manga Series, Neighborhood Story (VIZ Media) by Ai Yazawa for Best New Edition of Classic Manga, Stephen Kohler for Witch Hat Atelier (Kodansha) by Kamome Shirahama for Best Translation, Lys Blakeslee for Witch Hat Atelier (Kodansha) by Kamome Shirahama for Best Lettering, and Adam Grano for My Name Is Shingo (VIZ Media) by Kazuo Umezz for Best Publication Design.

The award ceremony also marked the inauguration of the Manga Publishing Hall of Fame, with the induction of Frederik L. Schodt. Schodt is a storied translator and author of Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics (Kodansha), one of the first books in English that opened the doors to manga’s history, creativity and legendary creators, as well as one of the pioneering voices that helped push manga in North America.

By honoring essential production work such as lettering, publication design, and re-releases of classic works, the American Manga Awards took a big step forward in highlighting the significant work done by artists and production staff in bringing manga to life.

The presentation ceremony itself was held at Japan Society’s historic headquarters in Midtown, New York and was hosted by accomplished author, translator, and presenter Matt Alt. It was an invite-only event filled with professionals from across the manga world.

Following the ceremony, Japan Society opened its doors to the broader Japanese popular culture world, hosting Anime NYC’s industry party, an evening focused on professionals working in the Japanese pop culture world. It was held on the eve of the 2024 Anime NYC convention, New York’s largest Japanese pop culture celebration. The evening featured networking, custom cocktails, and a special early preview of Japan Society’s upcoming Acky Bright: Studio Infinity exhibition. Artist Acky Bright himself attended and performed live drawings throughout the evening. Over 500 professionals attended these festivities before attending Anime NYC, which welcomed 100,000+ fans from around the world, all linked by their love of Japan.

The American Manga Awards came together through collaborations across the manga publishing industry, and demonstrated rigor and selectivity in their judging process. With this year’s strong foundation, the Awards will continue to serve as a platform for highlighting excellence in manga creation and publication in North America for years to come. As Frederick Schodt remarked upon induction into the Manga Publishing Hall of Fame, “the future of manga is bright”.