It’s Manga Taishou season again and I haven’t even started reading Therma Romae (once… I find my copy somewhere). Out of all the award ceremonies, I tend to enjoy the selection in Manga Taishou because these manga do not disappoint at all. Some awards tend to let some title win awards in order to boost its popularity. I honestly don’t know how some of these awards go behind the scenes, but yeah, so far, some winners are rather questionable. I cannot say the same for Manga Taisho though. When I look at their list, it all boils down to which manga were most amazing in the past year.
The list of the nominees is out and here’s my two cents on who have a shot of bringing home the Manga Taisho… well, at least those that I have read…
Otoyomegatari. The Bride Stories by Kaoru Mori. A very strong contender and quite popular to both critics and fans. I have full faith that there’s a high chance that Mori-san might bag this one. Can’t say much about the committee but if they gave it to Therma Romae last year, they might give this eclectic beautiful title a chance. I mean for chrissakes, she’s holding a kind of antelope on her shoulders. I’m quite sure the expectations will be high on this one.
Sangatsu no Lion. March Comes in Like a Lion by Chica Umino. This is quite an interesting tale and it’s one of those heartwarming stories that you can’t stop reading. The shougi is a nice extra but it ain’t anything like Hikaru no Go. This might have a good chance and I’m trying to think if there was something amazing that happened since its last nomination. This is Chica Umino and if you’ve read Honey and Clover, you can imagine the pace of this story. Between this and Otoyomegatari… my bet’s on the latter.
Omo ni Naitemasu by Akiko Higashimura. Filling in the loss of the amusing Himawari in Morning is her new work Omo ni Naitemasu. My friend and I have been fans of Himawari and we were hoping that this title would follow. While the humor is there, the plot in itself is a little difficult to swallow. The female lead is a mistress/muse to an artist and sometimes you just want to whack her head for longing such a horrible man. It’s a cohesive story but not exactly the best of the lot.
I think what I love more about looking at the list is the number of titles I have yet to read. So far, these are the ones that caught my eye.
Don’t Cry Girl by Tomoko Yamashita. This girl’s a BL artist and I enjoy her work immensely. I’m not exactly sure what this title is – if it’s a seinen or a josei. Either way, it looks interesting.
I am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa. I’ve been trying to find this comic but it often escapes my mind. Maybe I should give it a shot next time.
Un chocolatier de l’amour perdu by Setona Mizushiro. It has macarons on the cover. While it’s quite josei-ish in art… it looks yummy.
Hana no Zubora Meshi by Masayuki Kusumi & Etsuko Mizusawa. I doubt this manga is about food but that girl on the cover looks like she’s enjoying what she’s doing (with those morsels of rice all over her face.) It looks yummier and maybe… just maybe… I might get to enjoy this one.
I wish all of the nominees good luck and I can’t wait to hear the results of this one!
I really like Shitsuren Chocolatier by Setona Mizushiro, it’s a really amusing story about love and chocolate and I’m a big fan of Mizushiro but I would go for Otoyomegatari, even thoughI have never read it, just because I love the Mangaka.:D
Totally voting(in my heart) for Otoyome Gatari!!
Not only the beautiful art by Mori-sensei,
theres lots of things to love in the story line & the characters!!
A great “èŒãˆã‚‹=Moeru” master piece I can say!
(Also, I love the author itself.
She can be a moe-chara by just reading her comments at the back page/LOL)
Omo ni Naitemasu, I like it, but not voting(again, in my heart) for this.
Because that manga has a wave for each episodes(sometimes is good sometimes not good), unlike Otoyome, which is perfect for me in every episodes.
Although, as of now (by reading the latest episode from Morning),
its getting back the good pases of Higashimura-sensei.
I like when Toki-ba- & Komomo-chan does the “mini-acting scenes” with lots of “Japanese 80’s jokes”. XD
You’re really a big fan of Mori-sensei ne?
I don’t blame you although I’m also curious about the other titles. For example, in twitter today, @TAGRO of Henzemi was totally pimping Kokkoku as a title worthy of the Taisho. So it’s kinda exciting, isn’t it? How everyone’s got different things they’d want to win.
That goes to show how there’s just lots of amazing manga out there.
Hmm…your right, I should try other mangas too.
Manga Taisho is a good opportunity to try new mangas.
(Thats why I tried Therma Romae last year)
This year, I think I want to try Shitsuren Chocolatier(thats my 1st impression by looking at the art) & Hana no Zubora Meshi(Coz, I know the author’s other works & its a food manga).