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31st Dengeki Novel Prize's Grand Prize Winner Denji Yūtai Dies
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Denji Yūtai's work Yōsei no Butsirigaku: PHysics PHenomenon PHantom (Fairy Physics: PHysics PHenomenon PHantom) won the Grand Prize for the 31st awards in November, out of 3,819 works submitted. A ceremony to celebrate the winning works was held on November 29.
Since the award-winning work had not yet been published, Kadokawa stated it is consulting with the author's family and is considering how to publish it in a way that would respect the author's wishes. Kadokawa had originally planned to publish the work in March 2025 or later.
Great Quest For The Brave-Genius Sikorski Zeelife light novel author and Dōtei Yūsha wa Nakayoku Shitai manga writer Toshimichi Uzō made a post on X/Twitter about how they and Denji Yūtai had been longtime friends, having gone to the same school. They had decided together that professionally, they would not let it be publicly known that they were longtime friends, until Denji Yūtai had published five books. Uzō stated, "for better or for worse, they were a character you just couldn't dislike." Uzō added "even though there is only so much I can do, as long as I continue to be a writer, I can continue to let it be known that there was an award-winning author named 'Denji Yūtai'."
The Dengeki Novel Prize contest launched in 1993 as a way to discover and cultivate new talent. Some other winners of the Grand Prize include Reki Kawahara's Accel World, Chiaki Kisaki's Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, Kakeru Kobashiri's Grimoire of Zero, Asato Asato's 86, and Mareho Kikuishi's Your Forma, among others.
Sources: Dengeki Novel Prize's X/Twitter account, Livedoor News via Yaraon!
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
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