Ichi the Witch, Robō no Fujii, and more titles have been nominated.
The second round nominees for the 19th Manga Taisho Awards have been revealed! A total of 12 titles have made it through the first round, including Robō no Fujii, which was also nominated last year. The nominating committee this year consists of 94 individuals including mainly bookstore staffers who selected these works from 249 titles.
Any manga that released chapters in 2025 and has less than eight volumes was eligible for nomination.
Kiko Urino’s manga “Alice, Doko Made mo” won the 18th Manga Taisho Award in 2025.
19th Manga Taisho Award nominees
Imōto wa Shitte Iru
Story and Art: Mari Gangi
Publisher: Kodansha
Synopsis: The series follows a serious salaryman Kiichirō Miki who lives with his younger sister Miki. She’s the only one aware of his secret identity of Fruit Parfait, a pen name he uses to send detailed postcards to his favourite radio show. He becomes closer with his idol sister Miki after appearing on a variety show with her.
Home of the Horizon
Story and Art: Taiyo Watabe
Publisher: Shueisha
Synopsis by Manga Plus:
Ryoma runs a public bathhouse with his grandfather in a seaside town. One day, during his usual routine of running the bathhouse after school, a boy named Reo appears, claiming to be his father's illegitimate son. A bittersweet yet heart-warming drama unfolds between half brothers in a public bathhouse!
Kaijū o Kaibō Suru
Story and Art: Mado Saitō
Publisher: Kadokawa
Synopsis:
The seinen manga follows a kaiju aka monster researcher who is called to a site to dissect the body of a massive Kaiju. But after looking at the research material properly, the scientist starts to wonder if this kaiju is actually dead or just inactive.
Strikeout Pitch
Story and Art: Kyu Sumiyoshi
Publisher: Shueisha
Synopsis:
Heita Kobori, the captain of Yokohama Soha High School's baseball team doesn’t believe in the rumors of the ‘Baseball Club Slasher’ who only appears in the night. But one night, he meets this mysterious person and is blown away by his pitching skills. Heita wants to recruit the guy in their team and finds out that the Slasher is actually Fusetsu Kiriyama, a player who has incredible baseball skills but can only throw perfect pitches three times in one day. Despite the shortcoming, Heita recruits Fusetsu and dreams of finally making it to the Koshien.
The Devil’s in the Lunch Deals
Story and Art: Ishiko
Publisher: Kodansha
Synopsis by Penguin Random House:
Lainey is an ordinary human girl who runs a bento shop. But in her previous life, she was a god named Solange, the Goddess of Harvests and Death, who was expelled from the Northern Kingdom thirty years ago due to causing a war between it and the Southern Kingdom. In order to regain her godhood, Lainey has to accumulate good deeds.
Danmitsu
Story and Art: Tooru Seino
Publisher: Kodansha
Synopsis:
This series is an autobiography of Tooru Seino about his marriage to popular actress Mitsu Dan.
Tomodachi Datta Hito
Story and Art: Miya Kinuta
Publisher: Kobunsha
Synopsis:
A heartwarming story about those who used to be your friends.
Maison and the Man-Eating Apartment
Story: Kuu Tanaka
Art: Akima
Publisher: Shueisha
Synopsis by Manga Plus:
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...
Hon Nara Uru Hodo
Story and Art: Ao Kojima
Publisher: Kadokawa
Synopsis:
This episodic manga revolves around a laidback bookstore owner and the different types of customers who visit his store.
Ichi the Witch
Story: Osamu Nishi
Art: Shiro Usazaki
Publisher: Shueisha
Synopsis by Viz Media:
Ichi is a reclusive hunter who knows nothing of Witches and Majiks, but he does have a particular obsession for hunting anything that exudes bloodlust. When that instinct leads him to interfere in a battle between the great Witch Desscaras and the horrifying King Majik Uroro, against all odds, he acquires the destructive magic of Uroro, making him the only male Witch in the entire world! And not even Desscaras herself is prepared for the absolute headache that wild child Ichi is about to give her.
RIOT
Story and Art: Yūta Tsukada
Publisher: Shogakukan
Synopsis:
The story revolves around two high school boys living in a rural town which has no bookstores or record stores. However, they love paper magazines known as Zines, and wish to create one together.
Robō no Fujii
Story and Art: Nabekurao
Publisher: Shogakukan
Synopsis:
Fujii is a middle aged man who is the living embodiment of the word ‘unassuming’. By day, he excels at his work silently and vanishes without a word once office hours finish. He’s not invited for post-work gatherings and his juniors regard him as a person they never wish to become. However, due to his enigmatic nature, Fujii rouses the curiosity of those around him, who wonder what the robotic Fujii is actually like in his day-to-day life.