{"id":1669,"date":"2014-01-25T21:54:26","date_gmt":"2014-01-25T13:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/?p=1669"},"modified":"2014-01-25T15:12:32","modified_gmt":"2014-01-25T07:12:32","slug":"2014-manga-taishou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2014\/01\/25\/2014-manga-taishou\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sneak Peek of The 2014 Manga Taisho Nominees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"sevendeadlysins\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another year for Manga Taisho (Manga Award) where some of manga\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most influential critics select a number of titles to choose the best of manga released last year. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a yearly<\/a> tradition<\/a> of sorts<\/a> for me to check this award out since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a lazy fart and I really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the time (or money) to take risks on titles I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not exactly sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m ready to read. So looking at these lists always leave an impression that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re good since they’ve been listed by judges of this award. And they compose of critics, manga artists, and editors who have the experience and the knowledge on what makes an amazing manga. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always a good, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

This year didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have as much nominations as the previous year but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good list nonetheless. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little rundown on these manga nominated for the award.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Otoyomegatari by Kaoru Mori<\/h3>\n

\"otoyomegatari\"<\/a>This title gets nominated every year and it just never gets it, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m quite worried because I believe a lot of us know how visually spectacular this story is! Just what is missing? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m starting to think that maybe they get unlucky that there are just other titles out there that are unfortunately better to the committee but I wish this title gets the win this year.<\/p>\n

7 Deadly Sins by Nakaba Suzuki<\/h3>\n

\"\u00e4\u00b8\u0192\u00e3\u0081\u00a4\"<\/a>I chose this in one of my favourite reads for last year and I think it too merits this shortlist. It has a good blend of humour and shonen action laced with complex social and war politics all guised under a fantasy. To some, that might be bad. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of those arguments where why you should make things appear simple. To me, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good start for readers to understand the complexities of war and politics. I am excited for this series and thankfully I can read it in Crunchyroll. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to see where this series is headed and a part of me wonders if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be as profound and endearing as Magi. A smart series. I think we need more of this.<\/p>\n

One Punch Man by One and Murata Yusuke<\/h3>\n

\"onepanman\"<\/a> This comic an interesting concept for a superhero and I have to give One some credit for devising the comedic brilliance of this story and managing to push the story forward without being too repetitive of the comedy. It also helps that Murata Yusuke is a fantastic artist who is maximising the manga page. His art is brilliant and it lifts One\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comedy (which is brilliant as it is) making this a masterpiece. That said, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t match the poignant matters of the previous titles but it is truly an entertaining piece and an artistic masterpiece. I suppose tumblr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s love of making gifs of One Punch Man is an indicator of how alive this series is for a manga.<\/p>\n

Sakamoto Desu Ga by Nami Sato<\/h3>\n

\"sakamoto\"<\/a>There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a premise that comedies often have these fugly leads, leaving little room for the handsome man as a lead (except if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exceptionally dumb). You can give (the dude in Cromartie) some credit, however Sakamoto takes the lead for being the most perfect man who actually has a funny bone. Sakamoto\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a nice boy, the smartest in class, and possibly has 9000++ charm for a life stat. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s amazing and this comedy centres around people stealing people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hearts with his awesome or how people have lost their sanity over him. One of my favourite titles although how far can Sakamoto\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s awesomeness go? The rest of the characters in the series are rather forgettable characters and I wonder if Sakamoto can keep our attention.<\/p>\n

Hikidashi ni Terarrium by Kui Ryoko<\/h3>\n

\"hikidashi\"<\/a> Kui Ryoko\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a newbie for the Manga Taisho. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been nominated before and I think, given this girl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fantastic imagination that always merges with reality, she will keep the attention of her critics and her readers. Hikidashi ni Terarium was a web comic that was published into a manga. Similar to her other works, it’s a short story collection and one that deserves some English attention.<\/p>\n

Ajin by Miura Tsuina and Sakurai Gamon<\/h3>\n

\"ajin\"<\/a><\/a>In this manga, the earth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s population have been infiltrated by Ajin (monsters? aliens? no one really knows) who are known to be immortal. Whatever these things are, they take the shape of men but they are not considered human and are often caught for experiments. However, a human boy gets caught in an accident and realises that he has transformed into an Ajin when he resurrected. Japan suddenly focuses on his capture and he tries to learn more about his body and his new identity. To a degree, it reminds me of Parasyte. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve only read as far as volume. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily see something phenomenal after the first volume, but perhaps there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still some secrets that Ajin has yet to reveal.<\/p>\n

Ashizuri Suizokukan by Papanya<\/h3>\n

\"ashizu\"<\/a> While I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read this title, this work has been garnering attention. Not only has it been shortlisted for a Manga Taisho but it was also selected as the Best Newcomer for the Kono Manga ga Sugoi list of 2014. The artist, Papanya, has been going around the dojin circles and this is a compilation of all of Papanya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work. Website summarises it as a work involving the writer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reflections on her travels, illustrating what she sees and observes. When I checked the website, it seems that a lot of it involves aquariums. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say much apart from the wonderful illustrations that reminds me of Kyo Machiko\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Makiko-san.<\/p>\n

Sayonara Tama-chan by Takeda Kazuyoshi<\/h3>\n

\"tamachan\"<\/a>This seems to be the story of the author as he narrates his life as a manga assistant and his experience in getting testicular cancer. You can read the first chapter in Evening\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s website<\/a> and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quite funny for something quite tragic. The other patients in the hospital are hilarious, poking fun at Tama-chan and his lovely wife. Unlike the author who is still gripping the idea of his sickness, the people around him are looking up. This gives him motivation to do something with his life. I can see why this title is nominated, not because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking the committee might be mostly male and would have their own worries on testicular cancer, but I think the story has a good premise on starting your life again when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re at the end of it.<\/p>\n

Juuhan Shuttai by Matsuda Naoko<\/h3>\n

\"jyuuhanshu\"<\/a>I initially thought that this was some OL romance kind of title, kind of like the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153obachan in love” titles that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been enjoying last year. Instead it seems to be a story about a girl entering the world of publishing. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not exactly sure on the details of the department but based on their sample chapter, it seems that it has a good grasp on the process involved in publishing a book. I suppose it touches the heart of folks in the manga industry and in the awards because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the world they live in.<\/p>\n

Boku dake ga Inai Machi by Sanbei Kei<\/h3>\n

\"news_large_bokudakeinai1\"<\/a>Another manga that centres around a struggling mangaka, but this time, he too is a guy who seems to be forced to help people because of his special talent. Based on summaries, it appears that the guy has an ability to review a fragment of a day prior to something bad happening. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his duty to figure out what was particular wrong with that fragment of time in order to save people from any casualty. Quite interesting but not one talent I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to own for fear of having the ability to respond quickly.<\/p>\n

My Bets<\/h3>\n

If Otoyomegatari doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it this year, I am curious to see what Otoyomegatari lacks that the winners have. Last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Umimachi Diary was a fantastic read, filled with small town spirit and reflections on life. Prior years also had stories with strong feelings and identities as a manga, whether they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re philosophical or just crack. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really know why Otoyomegatari has been missing the mark.<\/p>\n

Of the lot, if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not giving it to Otoyomegatari, then I can see them giving it to Sakamoto Desu Ga (another critic\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s favourite) or One Punch Man which is quite an exceptional title for a seinen manga. But One Punch Man is such a ‘normal’ manga. But Silver Spoon was quite ‘normal’ too? I… really can’t read these judges. <\/p>\n

Who would you think will bag the Manga Taisho this year? Do we need to summon Osamu Tezuka to make Otoyomegatari win? Regardless of who the winner is, these titles will be good reads so if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking for titles to read, the Manga Taishou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good place to start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another year for Manga Taisho (Manga Award) where some of manga\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most influential critics select a number of titles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[33],"tags":[487,188,491,415,226,485,489,494,495,492,493,488,490,486],"class_list":["post-1669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-takeda-kazuyoshi","tag-kaoru-mori","tag-kui-ryoko","tag-manga-taisho","tag-manga-taishou","tag-matsuda-naoko","tag-miura-tsuina","tag-murata-yusuke","tag-nakaba-suzuki","tag-nami-sato","tag-one","tag-papanya","tag-sakurai-gamon","tag-sanbei-kei"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p26e5y-qV","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":464,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2011\/01\/17\/sneak-peek-at-2011-manga-taishou-list\/","url_meta":{"origin":1669,"position":0},"title":"Sneak Peek at 2011 Manga Taishou List","author":"khursten","date":"January 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Manga Taishou season again and I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even started reading Therma Romae (once\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fujoshi Life"","block_context":{"text":"Fujoshi Life","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1641,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2013\/12\/20\/digital-reads-ebookjapan\/","url_meta":{"origin":1669,"position":1},"title":"Digital Reads: Ebookjapan","author":"khursten","date":"December 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the things I dreaded when I moved to Australia was how I'm going to weed my precious manga collection. By then, my collection has blown out of proportion and to choose which ones to part with tore me apart. Quite literally, if you ask my heart. Painful as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3826\/11116117723_13bb85a52e_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1945,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2015\/01\/12\/manga-and-the-mangaesque-womens-manga-conference-in-manila\/","url_meta":{"origin":1669,"position":2},"title":"Manga and the Mangaesque: Women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Manga Conference in Manila","author":"khursten","date":"January 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A new year just started and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already quite hectic! For those in Manila, did you guys know that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a Manga conference happening in Manila? Manga scholars from all over the globe (from Fusami Ogi, Jaqueline Berndt, James Welker, etc.) as well as artists from all over Asia (Stephanie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2012,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2015\/12\/31\/10-awesomesauce-manga-from-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":1669,"position":3},"title":"10 awesomesauce manga from 2015","author":"khursten","date":"December 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"2015 came and went so fast and I feel like I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read enough manga. OTL. More like, I feel like I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t written much about the manga I read in the last year. I remember making a call for more josei this year but I ended up reading so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favorite Reads"","block_context":{"text":"Favorite Reads","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/favorite-reads\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shelf","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1661,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2014\/01\/21\/13-awesomes-manga-for-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":1669,"position":4},"title":"13 awesome manga for 2013","author":"khursten","date":"January 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to think that I read a lot this year but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not exactly sure if I did. In the last year I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been gorging on texts that I think I had around forty books, mostly academic, in my bibliography. Was there time for manga? I always wish there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favorite Reads"","block_context":{"text":"Favorite Reads","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/favorite-reads\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"news_large_cover11","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7321\/12006904974_7480993097_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":570,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2011\/03\/30\/spotlight-nakamura-asumiko\/","url_meta":{"origin":1669,"position":5},"title":"Spotlight: Nakamura Asumiko","author":"khursten","date":"March 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I believe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been told by one of my advisers that I shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t write something that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m obsessed about. Bias, after all, is one of the greatest sins in historical writing. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like a painted picture where everything is all right or all wrong and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to tell whether\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spotlight"","block_context":{"text":"Spotlight","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/spotlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/asumiko-001.jpg?fit=755%2C1065&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/asumiko-001.jpg?fit=755%2C1065&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/asumiko-001.jpg?fit=755%2C1065&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/asumiko-001.jpg?fit=755%2C1065&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1669"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1679,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1669\/revisions\/1679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}