The American Manga Awards – An Historic Moment For The Manga Community

Note: Due to the time-sensitive nature of our coverage, this article will debut on the main Anime Herald site on September 13. We apologize for the inconvenience.

• Author: Sean Gaffney and Erica Friedman

• Editor: Samantha Ferreira

The American Manga Awards was an idea whose time had finally come. For years, as we watched manga be relegated to a tiny category among comic awards, many of the people in the industry had been saying that we really needed an awards celebration of our own. One of those people, journalist, podcaster, publisher and catalyst for change, Deb Aoki, decided to do something about it. 

Aoki polled industry professionals, gathered a group of folks online to discuss what kinds of awards made the most sense, who should vote, and all the myriad details that needed to go into an awards show. By the time the right people were in the right spot, it had taken six months, from initial discussions to the event itself.

“It's one thing to complain about things, but when it’s something in which that things could be better, it's so gratifying when you can actually make it better.” – Deb Aoki

Neither of us had been to the Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards, or any of the other awards which had a subcategory that amounted to "Best Manga.” But upon arriving at the Japan Society in New York City, the location for the First Annual American Manga Awards ceremony, it was hard not to be impressed.  It's a lovely building architecturally, and was already filled with people awaiting the big moment.

Before that, we had the opportunity to do some interviews. First, Frederik L. Schodt, the winner of the inaugural Hall of Fame award. He said he was surprised, which was expected, but he also looked surprised.  If Fred Schodt is North American manga's own Superman, then he definitely gives off more of a Clark Kent vibe. We told him that his achievements changed people's lives, and he quickly said, "That's a big responsibility." Award judge and translator Matt Alt joked that we were all “spiritual children of Fred.” It was easy to agree with that. Fred’s work led to the first influx of manga into North America. Now, with manga accounting for 76% of graphic novel sales in America according to Bookscan (https://comicbook.com/anime/news/anime-manga-sales-2023-united-states/), it is undeniable that Fred’s work changed the world.

When asked what he thought the biggest change was in manga over the years, he quickly said that it was the fan desire to read manga from right to left. Unflipped manga was something that simply wasn't done until Sailor Moon's [1] first release, and now it's hard to find a publisher that is flipping manga.  He also felt that manga helped neuroplasticity, which is to say the ability of the brain to grow and change, as well as helping readers to think more creatively.

“In 1983, manga were so obscure that we needed a guy named Fred Schodt to write about it to explain it to everybody. When I first read that book as a kid, “Manga! Manga!, the world of Japanese comics,” I never could have imagined that someday all of these titles would be available to read streaming on an app.” – Award Judge Matt Alt

We then got to talk to judges—and legends in their own right—translators and writers, Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda. 

Alt looked even more excited to be at the awards than the folks in the audience. He noted that the award ceremony is a sign of how far we've come in such a short time.  In the mid-1980s, no one knew what manga was. Now, we're holding a ceremony next to the United Nations and everyone knows what One Piece is. You can also now read titles described in Fred's Manga! Manga!  that you could never imagine being available before, such as The Rose of Versailles and Space Pirate Captain Harlock. He added that the Awards were a mark of just how far manga had come.

Matt went on to explain  that we're seeing a younger generation who have grown up with manga all around them. Fans identify themselves with the stories they like and share them, and it brings them together with others. One of the big reasons for the awards is because it's signposting the future, which is not simply one or two categories in the Eisner Awards, but a necessary expansion across the genre of manga itself.

Yoda also waxed enthusiastic about the future through manga. She believes that manga can lead to a brighter future as young people share things they love. It’s a way to bridge gaps between cultures. 

“Manga is more than a medium, I think it's a lens, it's a tool for focusing passions, absolutely, and that leads to connecting. By focusing those passions, everybody is coming together. It brings people together.” – Hiroko Yoda

Before long, it was time for the awards, themselves. The first speaker was Peter Tatara, founder of Anime NYC and affiliated with the Japan Society. He stated that these awards, which had been worked on for over six months by Deb Aoki in conjunction with Left Field Media, will be the first of a new tradition - manga awards curated by the industry, and voted on by its peers. It felt appropriate for it to be at the Japan Society, which has hosted presidents, Japanese prime ministers, and Nobel Prize winners on the same stage.

Matt Alt then came out, and after talking once more about the bridges that manga builds between cultures, he welcomed illustrator and creator Acky Bright, who was not only part of the awards but had a solo art exhibit at the Society that people were able to tour after the show ended.  Among other things, he's created murals, worked with BMW on an ad campaign, and worked with McDonald's on the popular "WcDonald's" ad campaign, based on the copyright-avoiding name seen so often in anime.

Bright talked about how the idea of manga as a "genre" is one unique to the West, and also mentioned that he supported all sorts of manga creators, including American and international manga artists.  His ads for BMW and McDonald's are helping to get the word out about manga, and he hopes to help more and more people learn what it is.

We then started the awards themselves, which were filmed – hopefully you will be able to watch them soon on the official Youtube channel for Anime NYC. The full list of judges and nominated works are online (https://animenyc.com/americanmangaawards/)  In initial conversations, it was decided to keep the number of categories slim, allowing for the awards to grow over time. There are awards for translation, lettering, and design.  There are also awards for the best new edition of a classic manga, the best ongoing manga, and the best new manga.  Publishers were allowed to submit up to three works per category.  The technical awards were judged by peers, while the main manga awards by judges who were said to have “read a lot of manga,” NYPL Young Adult Librarian Renee Scott, manga journalist Brigid Alverson, comic artist Shaenon Garrity, Anime News Network Executive Editor Lynzee Loveridge, and manga advocate Minovsky. The timeframe for eligibility was that the book had been released between August 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024.

The first award was for Best Publication Design, and was presented by Shigekazu Watanabe, the East Coast manager of Kinokuniya bookstores. He was also one of the judges, along with Sasha Head, a long-time graphic designer. Watanabe stated that this was a hard award to choose, as every nominee was strong. The award went to Adam Grano, for the design of My Name Is Shingo by Kazuo Umezz.  Adam was almost overcome with emotion upon winning the award, which is something that you never get tired of seeing in these ceremonies. Adam called the book "creepy yet charming," and said it was an honor to work on it.  There was also a thank-you message from Umezz-sensei himself praising Adam’s work on the book.

The next award was for Best Lettering. Sara Linsley, who has ten years of experience with lettering, fonts, and software design, was the presenter. The judges were Thomas Orzechowski of Marvel and DC Comics, who back in the day did the lettering for Nausicaa and Ghost in the Shell, as well as font creator and letter Nate Piekos of Blambot!. In messages from the judges, Orzechowski talked about trying to judge the entries by asking himself if he would hire them. Piekos also mentioned how difficult touch-up work can be with manga, even if it no longer has to be flipped. The award went to Lys Blakeslee, for Witch Hat Atelier. Blakeslee  has been in the industry for fifteen years, but talked about how excited she was to get the award, and how wonderful the community is.

Translator and writer Hiroko Yoda was the next presenter, for Best Translation. She's been translating for 25 years, including one of Sean’s favorite recent series, Dorohedoro. Yoda talked about how translators have to work in the shadows, making sure the creator’s and the character’s voice is heard in the manga. The judges looked at the books without knowing specifically who translated them, and judged based on how complex the original work was, how well the cultural nuances were handled, and how well the translator captured the individual "voices" for the characters. 

The award went to Stephen Kohler, once again for Witch Hat Atelier, which has had so much buzz already, even before an upcoming anime adaptation. Kohler could not be at the ceremonies, so the award was accepted by the first editor for it, who noted that Stephen's translation is "a dream to edit," and that his words have a flow and poetry that matches the tone of Witch Hat Atelier well.

Next up, it was time for the Hall of Fame award. The award is given to someone who has made “a significant contribution to manga in North America.” Frederik Schodt’s 1983 book Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics conveyed a picture of its history and creators that drew readers in. The word "manga" was so obscure at the time that the publisher wasn’t even sure it should be in the title - wouldn't people think it was an Italian food book?  “Mangia, mangia?” 

Schodt studied at the University of Tokyo in the early 1970s, which is when he began to read manga. He started translating it in 1977, and became friends with the legendary Osamu Tezuka.  His more recent nonfiction includes Dreamland Japan and The Astro Boy Essays, and his translations include Astro Boy itself, as well as Phoenix, Barefoot Gen, and Ghost in the Shell. There was so much of Fred's career to talk about that the facts were coming fast and furious. He's received numerous awards, including the Order of the Rising Sun, given to him by the Emperor of Japan! He's also won the Tom Spurgeon award for cartoonists at CXC.

Schodt hadn't prepared a speech, and added that he didn't need to, as the presentation told us everything to know about him! He talked about how, when he began to read manga, it was still mostly for children in Japan, and only just starting to explode into the adult market. At university, when he was twenty years old, reading manga was a badge of pride, like listening to rock 'n roll. He was given five volumes of Tezuka's Phoenix series to read, and they were presented to him in a way that was almost religious. He joked that his friend handed them over with a request that he definitely please return them. This is when he started wondering about how to introduce manga outside Japan. He also translated Rose of Versailles for the 1979 live-action film directed by Jacques Demy, and did the first two volumes for educational purposes in the early 1980s. He talked about having to learn how to flip the art and do the lettering on his own in order to translate Phoenix. We could have listened to him talk for five more hours.

After this, we had the three remaining awards. They were presented by Deb Aoki herself, along with young adult librarian Renee Scott. First up was Best New Edition of a Classic Manga. The judges talked about how deep the pool of titles to choose from was, and how the best of them got better as they went along. The rule was that the manga had to be over twenty years old, which is to say from 2004 or earlier. The award went to Neighborhood Story, by Ai Yazawa. The West was introduced to some of the cast of this manga from her work Paradise Kiss, which came out in North America years earlier, but was actually the next generation of this story. The author sent a note saying she couldn't imagine thirty years ago that she'd be getting an award like this.

I loved Manga ever since I was a teenager. Manga was my representation, because especially being a person of color, my stories were not really being heard or being represented properly, so I found it through Manga. For this historic event on so many levels, because this is the first ever American Manga awards, I'm the first black female judge and tonight, our first woman of color is going to be accepting her nomination for President, this is a very historic moment. I hope, especially for my teens at the library, they're mostly teens of color and I hope they look at this point on and see themselves and what they can achieve.”  - Awards Judge Renee Scott

We then had the Best Continuing Manga award, which went to Ryoko Kui's Delicious in Dungeon.  We were six weeks too late for Kui-sensei to be there herself, as she was at Anime Expo this summer.  Series editor Thomas McAllister was there, though, as well as Mark De Vera, Yen Press's marketing director.  We had not realized that they had started publishing Delicious in Dungeon seven years ago - it was a quick license, so it did not come out every two months like some other series. It also got a huge influx of fans from the recent anime on Netflix. Thomas explained that there weren't really many series like this back when they started, and called it “touching and epic.” Ryoko Kui also sent a message saying the award was an honor, and she hopes that it leads to more people reading manga in the future.

Anime News Network Executive Editor Lynzee Loveridge presented the final award of the night, Best New Manga. She commented that this may have been the most difficult choice of the night, as all five nominees were groundbreaking in many ways. That said, it's probably ironic that the winner of Best New Manga ended up being a title that's a retelling of the classic 19th century title Dracula, #DRCL Midnight Children by Shin’ichi Sakamoto. Sakamoto talked about how grateful he was to convey an iconic Western title for Japanese manga, and his manga is a wonderful combination of beauty and terror.

And that was the end of the awards. We loved seeing how everyone was so excited and happy to be there.  Even the industry insiders had wide grins on their faces. Everyone, to a person, spoke of the historicity of the moment and also of the magic of the event. As translator and writer Zack Davisson said later of the event, we are standing on the shoulders of giants. For one moment, those of us in the industry and writing about manga could meet those giants and thank them for their work.

As Deb Aoki noted, this was an effort built by and for a community. She credited the Japan Society and Left Field Media folks repeatedly for making this happen in six months from the time she approached them, to realize this unique and much-needed event on this evening. She noted, “I didn't have to do it alone, and I don't think it would have been possible. I'm really grateful. And I hope that we can do this next year and continue to make it better and better.” But most importantly, she commented that the American Manga Awards is the first event to recognize the work put in by the professionals who bring us all the great manga we enjoy.

We absolutely agree and hope this can be the start of a long tradition.

[1]: Tokyopop began releasing unflipped manga on a large scale in 2002. The launch lineup featured nine titles, including Chobits, Cowboy Bebop, Great Teacher Onizuka, and Marmalade Boy.

Source: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-01-29/tokyopop-commits-to-unflopped-manga