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Magi, Kano-Uso, Zekkyō Gakkyū Win Shogakukan Manga Awards

The judging committee of the 59th Shogakukan Manga Awards announced this year's winners on Tuesday. Each winning title will be honored with a bronze statuette and a prize of 1 million yen (about US$9,600) at a March 3 ceremony at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Shogakukan itself publishes four of the five winners.

Children's Category

Zekkyō Gakkyū
Emi Ishikawa
Serialized in Ribon (Shueisha)
The manga follows a ghost girl named Yomi as she tells the reader various scary stories. The manga inspired a live-action film that opened last June.

Boys' Category

Magi
Shinobu Ohtaka
Serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan)
Alibaba is a teenager who dreams of conquering one of the mysterious Dungeons that have popped up in the world to become powerful and wealthy. One day he comes across a strange boy named Aladdin who carries a magical flute, and the two agree to conquer a dungeon together. The manga has inspired two television anime series, the second of which is currently airing.

Girls' Category

Kanojo wa Uso o Ai Shisugiteru
Kotomi Aoki
Serialized in Cheese! (Shogakukan)
The story centers around Aki Ogasawara, a "sound creator" who composes for the popular band Crude Play and earns over 100 million yen (about US$1.3 million) a year. Despite this, he conceals all of this and calls himself a NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). Seeking a life outside of music, he begins seeing a high school girl named Riko Koeda. However, what Aki does not know is that Riko is actually a huge fan of Aki's music. Even with his girlfriend, Aki cannot escape the world of music. The manga inspired a live-action film that opened on December 14.

General Category

Mogura no Uta
Noboru Takahashi
Serialized in Big Comic Spirits (Shogakukan)
Reiji Kikukawa is known as a troublesome member of the police force due to his tendency to enforce justice through his own morals. He goes undercover to infiltrate a gangster syndicate. The manga is inspiring a live-action film that will open on February 15.

Judging Committee Special Award

Asari-chan
Mayumi Muroyama
Serialized in Shogaku Ninensei (Shogakukan)
Muroyama launched the "super gag" manga about a very energetic and violent elementary school girl in 1978 and Shogakukan will publish the 100th volume in February. The manga previously won the Shogakukan Award in the Children's Category in 1985, and the series inspired a television series and film in 1982-83.

Shogakukan has been awarding this prize since 1956 (for works published in 1955). Recent winners have included Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata's Hikaru no Go (2000), Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha (2002), Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys (2003), Mine Yoshizaki's Keroro Gunso (2005), Kotomi Aoki's Boku no Hatsukoi o Kimi ni Sasagu (2008), Kanoko Sakurakoji's Black Bird (2009), and Kenta Shinohara's Sket Dance (2010). 2011's winners were Yumeiro Pâtissière, Ōoku, Ushijima the Loan Shark, and Space Brothers, while 2012's winners were Inazuma Eleven, Nobunaga Concerto, Pin to Kona, and Kids on the Slope. Last year's winners included Mysterious Joker, Silver Spoon, Piece, and I am a Hero.

This year's judging committee included Mitsuru Adachi, Akira Oze, author Mitsuyo Kakuta, Kaiji Kawaguchi, Chiho Saito, Kenshi Hirokane, columnist Bourbon Kobayashi, and Buronson.

Source: Sankei Sports