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Kelly/Niimura's I Kill Giants Wins 5th Int'l Manga Award
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
China's When You Standing Your Tiptoes, Taiwan's Make a wish! Da Xi, Thailand's The Man Who Follow His Own Voice are runners-up
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced the winner and runners-up of its Fifth International Manga Awards on Tuesday. The American writer Joe Kelly and Spanish cartoonist JM Ken Niimura won the top award for the graphic novel I Kill Giants, which was published in the United States in 2008. The story centers on a socially awkward girl named Barbara who believes that giants exist. One day, Barbara gets into a fight with the bully Tyler and accidentally hits her good friend Sophia. While Barbara worries about losing her friend, she prepares herself to ward of the coming giant attack. Kelly has worked on the American cartoons Ben 10 and Generator Rex as well as numerous comic books, while Niimura's manga have been translated into six languages.
China's Pan Li-Ping and Zu Le-ya (When You Standing Your Tiptoes), Taiwan's Cory (Make a wish! Da Xi), and Thailand's Tanis Werasakwong (The Man Who Follow His Own Voice) won awards of excellence or Silver Awards.
International Manga Award
Joe Kelly, JM Ken NiimuraI Kill Giants
Awards of Excellence
Pan Li-Ping, Zu Le-yaWhen You Standing Your Tiptoes
CoryMake a wish! Da Xi
Tanis WerasakwongThe Man Who Follow His Own Voice
An awards ceremony will take place in Tokyo on Friday.
This year's judges were Machiko Satonaka (Yumeiro Kajitsu), Leiji Matsumoto (Space Battleship Yamato), Seika Nakayama (Alfheim no Kishi), Kouichi Yuri (former Afternoon editor-in-chief), and Hiroyuki Yoshidome (former Manga Action editor). A total of 145 entries were submitted from 30 countries — less than the 189 entries which were submitted from 39 countries last year. 303 entries which were submitted from 55 countries the third year, 368 entries from 46 countries were submitted during the second year, and 222 entries from 22 countries were submitted during the first year of the awards.
Chinese creator Xiao Bai won the top award in the 2010 contest with Si loin et si proche ("So Far, Yet So Close"). Thai creator Jakraphan Huaypetch (a.k.a. Ton Huaypetch) won the Gold Award in 2009 for the basketball story Super Dunker. Hong Kong's Lau Wan Kit won 2008's top award for Feel 100%. Another Hong Kong artist, 43-year-old Lee Chi Ching, won the first International Manga Award in 2007 for his Sun Zi's Tactics comic series. Former Japanese Foreign Minister Tarō Asō, a self-professed manga fan, announced the creation of the awards in May of 2007.
Source: The Mainichi Daily News
Update: Image swap fixed. Thanks, Cutiebunny.
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