Ao Kojima's "Hon Nara Uru Hodo" brings home first place.
The 19th Manga Taisho Awards results have been announced. The executive committee has unveiled the awards winner, as well as a full points breakdown of all nominees.
Bringing home the award is Hon Nara Uru Hodo, which is written and illustrated by Ao Kojima, and published by Kadokawa. The series is an anthology revolving around a second-hand bookstore called Jugatsudo.
Hon Naru Uru Hodo
Author and illustrator: Ao Kojima
Publisher: Kadokawa
Platforms: not available for web reading, purchaseable through Amazon and other print stores under Kadokawa.
What is Manga Taisho?
The Manga Taisho (マンガ大賞) is an annual Japanese award that recognizes standout manga released in the previous calendar year.
The award specifically focuses on series with eight or fewer collected volumes, highlighting newer and relatively unestablished works.
Established to help promote rising titles, the Manga Taishō uses a unique judging approach: electing manga that judges would “recommend to friends,” rather than evaluating entries purely on technical or artistic merit.
How was the winner decided for Manga Taisho 2025?
The Manga Taisho's voting process is divided into two rounds, following a system similar to the Japan Booksellers’ Award.
In the first round, each committee member nominates five titles. The top ten titles advance to the shortlist.
The second round uses a ranked voting system. Judges read each nominated work at their own expense and select their top three picks. Points are assigned based on rank: three points for first place, two for second, and one for third, with the title earning the highest total declared the winner.
Winning titles cannot be nominated again in future years.
While the Manga Taishō does not include a cash prize, winning works receive significant promotion in bookstores across Japan, often leading to increased sales and, in many cases, anime or live-action adaptations.
What are the final results of Manga Taisho 2025?
Manga Taisho 2025 final results:
Winner:
Hon Nara Uru Hodo – 77 points
Written and Illustrated by Ao Kojima
Publisher: Kadokawa
Summary:
This is a place where books and people reconnect.
"Jūgatsudō" is a used bookstore run by a languid young man with his hair pulled back.
Attracted by the owner's personality and wonderful selection, various customers visit every day.
Regular book lovers, high school girls trying to act more grown-up,
a man who comes to throw away unwanted books, a widow selling her husband's collection.A single book picked up by chance connects unexpected relationships—
A gem of a human drama for all who love books and whose lives have been changed by them!
Nominees:
Danmitsu – 59 points
Written and Illustrated by Tooru Seino
Publisher: Kodansha
Summary:
“Danmitsu” is a nonfiction work that depicts the daily life of Seino Tooru and Dan Mitsu, the celebrity he married in 2019. It tells the “truth” about the two, including how Seino and Dan Mitsu started dating, the episodes leading up to their marriage, and their married life afterwards, and explains why a famous celebrity known to everyone and a subculture manga artist known only to a few are a “couple”.
The Devil's in the Lunch Deals – 58 points
Written and Illustrated by Ishiko
Publisher: Kodansha
Summary:
After having been suspended from the world of the gods as punishment, Solange has decided to start up a lunch cart in the human world... "
Home at the Horizon – 54 points
Written and Illustrated by Taiyo Watabe
Publisher: Kadokawa
Summary:
"But we're just kids, so nobody's really at fault, right?"
Ryouma runs a public bathhouse with his grandfather in a seaside town. As he's preparing to open the shop after school as usual, a boy named Reo, claiming to be his father's illegitimate son, shows up—? A high school ensemble drama unfolds in a public bathhouse, and it's about to begin!
Tomodachi Datta Hito: Kinuta Miya Sakuhinsshu – 53 points
Written and Illustrated by Miya Kunita
Publisher: Shueisha
Summary:
This is the commercial debut work of an author who has garnered attention on social media and in their personal activities.
Four stories depicting the hope that breathes life into everyday life.
Kaiju o Kaibo Suru – 50 points
Written and Illustrated by Mado Saito
Publisher: Kadokawa
Summary:
Akira Honda, a monster expert, is summoned to the site of an autopsy of the carcass of a colossal monster called "Tokyo."
A massive specimen, approximately 210 meters long and with an estimated weight of 85,000 tons.
As Akira reviews the research data on Tokyo, he begins to doubt, "It's inactive, but... is it really 'dead'..."
Robo no Fuji – 48 points
Written and Illustrated by Nabekurao
Publisher: Shogakukan
Summary:
Fujii, the true hero, is still unnoticed by everyone!
A single man with an almost invisible presence at work.
Yet, his way of life is exceptionally cool!
A life fought for cost-effectiveness, status, the need for recognition, and so on...
Somehow, all of that seems irrelevant... Here is a man who lives outside of our values!
Strikeout Pitch – 39 points
Written and Illustrated by Kyu Sumiyoshi
Publisher: Shueisha
Summary:
In June, a rumor was circulating among high school baseball players in Kanagawa Prefecture. A mysterious man, known as the "Baseball Club Hunter," would appear night after night, challenging everyone to a "three-pitch showdown."
The man possessed an astonishingly fast fastball and had never lost a match!
Kobori, the captain of the baseball team at Kanagawa Prefectural Yokohama Shimoha High School, suspected the "Baseball Club Hunter" was on campus. Determined to achieve his long-held dream of playing in the Koshien tournament, Kobori decided to act as bait to recruit the man.
That night, the "Baseball Club Hunter" appeared on the field! However, the man harbored a secret that prevented him from playing baseball…
With only three weeks until the final tournament in his third year of high school, and only three pitches to throw?! The baseball tale begins in the bottom of the ninth inning!
RIOT – 36 points
Written and Illustrated by Yuta Tsukada
Publisher: Shogakukan
Summary:
The passionate youth of high school students who create a magazine!
The setting is a peaceful rural town overlooking the sea.
There are no bookstores or record shops nearby, but almost everything can be found on a smartphone.
Shanghai and Aiji, high school students of the Reiwa era, are unknowingly drawn to "paper magazines"—for some reason.
So, why not make one?!
These boys, who may not be the class's main characters, start a "quiet revolution" on a whim—what will happen?!
A nostalgic yet fresh cultural youth story begins!
Ichi the Witch – 33 points
Written and Illustrated by Osamu Nishi, Shiro Usazaki
Publisher: Viz
Summary:
In a world where only women can be witches, one unsuspecting boy acquires their power.
Maison and the Man-Eating Apartment – 30 points
Written and Illustrated by Kuu Tanaka, Akima
Publisher: Shueisha
Summary:
The clock strikes at the single second before the end of the world. Yet humanity has escaped extinction and carry on with their daily lives in the strange and terrible apartment where time stands still. A young girl Maison, Landlord by birth, is on the brink of revealing its secrets… An astonishing sci-fi fantasy saga brought to you by a visionary duo!
Imoto wa Shitteiru – 27 points
Written and Illustrated by Mari Gangi
Publisher: Kodansha
Summary:
My older brother is the legendary postcard writer, Fruit Parfait.
At work, he's seen as an expressionless and boring salaryman, Kiichiro Miki. He's an outcast at company parties and doesn't seem to enjoy himself at all. But only I, his sister, know the truth. He's actually the funniest and kindest person in the world—
Who are the past winners of Manga Taisho?
The past winners of Manga Taisho are:
- 2025: Alice, Dokomademo by Kiko Urino
- 2024: Kimi to Uchu o Aruku Tame ni by Inuhiko Doronoda
- 2023: Kore Kaite Shine by Minoru Toyoda
- 2022: Darwin Jihen by Shun Umezawa
- 2021: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe
- 2020: The Blue Period. by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
- 2019: Astra Lost in Space by Kenta Shinohara
- 2018: BEASTARS by Paru Itagaki
- 2017: Hibiki: Shōsetsuka ni Naru Hōhō by Mitsuharu Yanamoto
- 2016: Golden Kamuy by Satoru Noda
- 2015: Kakukaku Shikajika by Akiko Higashimura
- 2014: A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori
- 2013: Umimachi Diary by Akimi Yoshida
- 2012: Silver Spoon by Hiromu Arakawa
- 2011: March comes in like a lion by Chika Umino
- 2010: Thermae Romae by Mari Yamazaki
- 2009: Chihayafuru by Yuki Suetsugu
- 2008: Gaku - Minna no Yama by Shinichi Ishizuka