The Japanese publisher Kodansha announced the thirteen nominees in three categories for the 45th edition of the Annual Manga Awards. The publisher will announce the winners for each category on May 13th.

Best Shonen Manga (nominated)

  • Enen not a shouboutai ((Firepower), by Atsushi Ohkubo and serialized in the Weekly Shonen Magazine (Kodansha).
    • Summary: Terror paralyzed Tokyo! Possessed by demons, humans have gone up in flames, which has led to the creation of a special fire service team - the Fire Force, which is always ready to fight spontaneous combustion wherever it breaks out. The team is about to make a unique addition: Shinra, a boy who has the unique power to run at the speed of a rocket, leaving the famous "devil's footprints" (and destroying his shoes).
  • Sousou no freezing ((Freezing: Beyond the end of the journey), by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abeand serialized in the Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan).
    • Summary: The elven mage Freeze and their brave adventurers defeated the Demon King and brought peace to earth. With the great struggle, everyone goes their separate ways to lead a quiet life. But as an elf, Freezing will long outlive the rest of his former group, almost immortal. How will you accept your friends' mortality? How can you find fulfillment in your own life and learn to understand what life means to those around you?
  • Tensei Shitara slime Datta Ken ((This time I was reborn as a slime) by Taiki Kawakamiand serialized in the Shonen Sirius monthly (Kodansha).
    • Summary: As Monster Hunter and Dungeons & Dragons players know, slime isn't exactly the king of fantasy monsters. When a 37-year-old man from Tokyo dies and wakes up in a world full of dragons and magic, he is a little disappointed that he has turned into a blind, boneless slime.
  • Blue lock by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke nomuraand serialized in the Weekly Shonen Magazine (Kodansha).
    • Summary: The manga begins with Japan's exit from the 2018 World Cup and prompts the Japan Football Union to initiate a program to find preparatory schools for selected players who will train and prepare for the 2022 World Cup. The protagonist Yoichi Isagi, a striker on his side, the high school team receives an invitation to attend the show right after his team loses the Saitama final and missed the chance to play in the national team.

Best Shojo Manga (nominated)

  • Kurosaki-kun no Iinari ni Nante Naranai ((Despite Kurosaki-kun), by Makino and serialized in the Bessatsu friend (Kodansha).
    • Summary: "I demand absolute obedience from you." Yu Akabane has worked hard reinventing herself for high school, and there is only one step left in her plan to leave her Jane days behind: to ask her idol "White Prince" Shirakawa-kun. When circumstances cause Yu to move into the school dormitory where Shirakawa-kun is boarding, he believes he has found his stroke of luck. But unfortunately for Yu, the "Black Devil" Kurosaki-kun, the boy everyone in school (including teachers!) Is afraid of, lives there too, and when Yu challenges him, he is too eager to punish her . .
  • Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai ((A state called love), by Megumi Morino and serialized in the dessert (Kodansha).
    • Summary: Hotaru is a 16-year-old high school freshman who has always been ambivalent about love and instead preferred to lead a lively life with her family and friends. When he sees his partner Hananoi-kun sitting in the snow after a messy public breakup, he doesn't think about offering to share his umbrella. But when he questions her in the middle of his classroom the next day, she can't help but feel that her life is about to change in a big way.
  • Honey lemon soda by Mayu Morita and serialized in the Ribon (Shueisha).
    • Summary: The manga is about Uka Ishimori, who did not have good memories of her school years. At 15 and in high school, Uka tries to "break up" with her former self, but things don't go well. Then he meets his classmate Kai, who has lemon-colored hair.
  • Yubisaki to Renren ((A sign of affection) by Suu morishita and serialized in the dessert (Kodansha).
    • Summary: Yuki is your typical college student whose world revolves around her friends, social media, and the latest sales. But when a chance meeting on a train leads her to meet a friend of a friend and fellow student Itsuomi-san, her world begins to expand. But although Itsuomi-kun can speak three languages, sign language is not one of them. Can you both learn to communicate the feelings you are beginning to feel?

Best Manga overall (nominated)

  • Aono-kun ni Sawaritai kara Shinitai ((I want to hold Aono-kun so badly that I might die) by Umi Shiina and serialized in the Monthly afternoon (Kodansha).
    • I would die if you let me touch you This is my love Airhead Yuri-chan and her boyfriend Aono-kun had a perfectly normal relationship until one day Aono-kun suddenly "passed away" ... They will never be together and they cannot even touch. This is her difficult and almost too heartfelt love story.
  • Ase to Sekken ((Sweat and soap), by Kintetsu Yamada and serialized in the magazine tomorrow (Kodansha).
    • Summary: Asako is living her dream and works for the toiletry manufacturer Lilia Drop. Little does his employees know, the reason he loves the company so much is because he is ashamed of his body odor and only his soap works. When the company's top product developer, a perfume genius, walks up to her in the lobby and wonders what "that smell" is, she is scared ... but could it be ... that he likes it?
  • Hakozume: Kouban Joshi no Gyakushuu ((Hakozome: counterattack by a woman from the police box), by Miko Yasu and serialized in the magazine tomorrow (Kodansha).
    • Summary: The story revolves around Kawaai, a frustrated police officer who is about to leave the company. Suddenly, Detective Lieutenant Fuji brings her to the criminal investigation department, the beginning of their unlikely partnership. Yasu has worked in the prefecture police for 10 years and uses his experience in the manga.
  • Futari Solo Camp ((Solo camping with just the two of us), by Yuudai Debata and serialized in the magazine Eve (Kodansha).
    • Summary: The story revolves around Gen Kinokura, a 34-year-old solo amateur camper. You don't have a car and usually take train and bus connections to eventually become one with nature and spend your precious time alone. Until one day on a camping trip he meets the 20-year-old Rei Kusano, a fanatic of solo camping, and ends up camping "together" alone.
  • Yuria Sensei no Akai Ito ((Miss Yuria's red thread of fate), by Kiwa irie and serialized in the magazine Be love (Kodansha).
    • Summary: The manga follows 50-year-old Irie, a ballet dancer who studied art a long time ago through her sister. Now she lives a simple but happy life, teaching crafts and living with a writer's husband. When her husband has a medical emergency due to bleeding, she rushes to the hospital to find a mysterious young man by her husband's side. When Irie's husband does not wake up, the young man confesses that he is Irie's husband's lover.

Source: Comic Natalie

COPYRIGHT (C) 2012 KODANSHA LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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One of the best parts of watching anime is how many times a show can surprise you. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. But if the Otaku know one thing, it's that anything is possible.

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