Last week, the 52nd Japan Cartoonists Association Awards (the JCA) happened on 10 April 2023. While many deserving mangas won their own respective awards, one particular manga took home a very prestigious prize. Tatsuya Endō's smash-hit manga Spy x Family received a prestigious Grand Prize in theh Comics category at this year's ceremony. This award is not just a trophy, it is comprised of many components, including a whopping cash prize.
The JCA strives to celebrate excellence in the medium of manga, as well works that progress the artform. Endō's exciting manga has garnered the world's attention, and that of his professional peers. The panel that decided on his win comprised experts within the manga and art industry. A few of these include writers Naomi Kimura (Dark Cat), Satoki Kusaka (Kumarajiva), promoter Yukio Shinohara (Baki), artist-writer Noriko Nagano (Don't Leave Me Alone Daisy) and manga artist and anime creator Kazuhiko Shimamoto (Anime Tenchou, Skull Man). The head of the panel is Machiko Satonaka, who worked in story and art on manga such as Lady Ann, Pia no Shouzou and Tenjo no Niji.
The Grand Prize Endō has won for his dynamic Spy x Family is quite a prestigious one. He has earned a gold-plated shield, medal, certificate and a cash prize of 500 000 yen. There were other winners from the Comics category.
Toshiko Nishida's Fūshi Manga De Toku Onna Wo Matsu Barrier won the Comic category, and Hiromu Matsuo's unconventional manga/book Magazine Rondo which won the best new manga award. Special awards went to Akihito Tsukushi's Made in Abyss and Osamu Takeuchi's self-published Vilange, who won the Manga Kingdom Tottori and Manga Kingdom Tosa awards, respectively.
Spy x Family tells the story of secret agent Twilight, who puts together a fake family in order to complete a top secret mission. Under the alias Loid Forger, he adopts an orphaned girl named Anya to be his daughter, quicly marries a woman named Yor and even adopts a dog named Bond. Twilight may think that he is the only one keeping up pretenses here, but audiences know that everyone needs this charade to work.
Yor is a trained assassin who takes the opportunity to marry Twilight to cover being found out. Anya is telepath who has been returned to her orphanage many times because of her abilities, so if she keeps it a secret then Twilight won't abandon her like the other adoptive parents. With everyone using this set-up to conceal their own secrets, the manga, and subsequent anime are on their way to becoming modern classics.
Sources: Crunchyroll, Anime News Network