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Leiji Matsumoto, Yuki Hijiri Honored With Contribution Award at Japan Nihon SF Taishō

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of Japan (SFWJ) on Friday posthumously awarded late science-fiction manga creators Leiji Matsumoto and Yuki Hijiri with the Contribution Award in its 44th Nihon SF Taishō Awards. Matsumoto died in February 2023, and Hijiri died in October 2022.

Matsumoto's notable works include Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, and Queen Emeraldas — all of which inspired multiple anime or live-action adaptations — and he contributed designs and created the tie-in manga for Space Battleship Yamato. He also supervised animated music videos for French electronic pop group Daft Punk's Discovery album, and the videos were strung together into the INTERSTELLA 5555 film. His designs and works have influenced multiple generations of artists around the world.

Hijiri is known for the Chōjin Locke (Locke the Superman) manga series. Hijiri was also the character and mechanical designer for series such as Voltes V, Fighting General Daimos, and Future Robot Daltanious.

The SFWJ honored Hideo Azuma and Taku Mayumura with the same award in 2020.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan's Nihon SF Taishō Awards are the rough Japanese equivalent of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Nebula Awards. This year's grand prize award went to Satoshi Hase's Protocol of Humanity novel.

Sources: SFWJ, Comic Natalie