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Shonen Jump Announces Its 1st 'Under 23' Web Manga Award
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Getting a big break as an up-and-coming manga creator is no easy task. Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine might be one of the most difficult publications to get into and its even harder to keep a series going week to week, if Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's Bakuman. manga is any indication. Weekly Shonen Jump decided to spotlight the industry's youngest artists with its first ever "U23 Jump WEB Manga Award." The Award is limited to artists that are 23 years old or younger.
The award page is located on Shueisha's Jump Rookie website and participants' works are judged by Shonen Jump editors who are also in their 20s. Sticking with the theme, 23 prizes will be given out to top choices. Anyone can enter so long as they are in the proper age range. Entries can include comics drawn at school or original doujinshi released at Comiket as long as it has not been previously published in a commercial magazine on website. Each artist can submit up to three works for consideration. The deadline is March 31, 2019.
The top prize is one million yen (US$8,900) and the right to publish the work on Shueisha's Jump+ app.
Two of Shonen Jump's current artists, Kyōsuke Usuta and Kentarō Yabuki offered comments for potential applicants. Usuta made his debut at 21 years old and is the creator Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san and Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar. He received his first manga award when he was around 15 or 16 years old but had started posting his works at just 13. Usuta said that new artists might have a hard time standing out nowadays because there are so many places to post manga online. He added that the most important thing for an artist at any age is to have a strong desire to be noticed and confidence.
Yabuki made his debut at 18 years old and is the artist behind Black Cat and the romantic comedy series To Love Ru. He shared his thoughts on a career in the manga industry and stated that working as a manga artist is fun. He said that while he's happy to just get paid to draw, it's great to meet industry people you've admired at parties, animators and voice actors through work, and see your connections grow. He also advised creators aiming for the top to remember "professionalism" and focus on a creating a story that is entertaining for readers.
Source: Shonen Jump U23 Award site, Comic Natalie
