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SPY×FAMILY, Takopi's Original Sin Nominated for Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes

The Asahi Shimbun paper announced the nine nominees for the 27th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize 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.

This year's 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 2022.

Asahi Shimbun will announce the winners in late April, and will host an awards ceremony in Tokyo on June 8. The Grand Prize winner will receive a bronze statue and 2 million yen (about US$14,800), while the other winners will each receive a bronze statue and 1 million yen (about US$7,400).

Last year, nine titles were nominated, and Uoto's Chi -Chikyū no Undō ni Tsuite- won the Grand Prize. Natsuko Taniguchi's Kyōshitsu no Katasumi de Seishun wa Hajimaru won the New Creator prize, and Izumi Okaya's Ii Toshi o and Hakumokuren wa Kirei ni Chiranai won the Short Work Prize.

Sources: The Asahi Shimbun, Comic Natalie