Manga Jiman 2018 Winners on display at Embassy of Japan

By John Freeman on March 12, 2019

The winners of the 12th edition of the Manga Jiman competition were revealed at a reception hosted at the Embassy of Japan last month – and an exhibition of the strips is on display until the end of March.

The reception also saw announcements for the British Museum‘s upcoming Manga exhibition, which opens in May, and a presentation by author and editor Helen McCarthy on the importance of manga.

“You can take the culture out of Japan, and and I’m very glad that we have,” she noted. “You can send it all over the world, and I’m very glad that the Embassy and other Japanese institutions are doing it. But to keep it valid, to keep its value, you absolutely cannot take Japan out of the culture.”

Talented manga creators living in the UK created original stories on the theme of “home’ with first prize in the 12th Manga Jiman competition going to illustrator and animator Elizabeth Garwood’s entry “ARC-01“.

The manga, which has a poignant message and a developed art style, impressed the judges, and the story was deemed to have dealt with the theme in a mature and unique way.

ARC-01 is the first chapter of Elizabeth’s comic series about a scientist in the near future trying to keep his conservation project afloat – both literally and financially – as ARC-01, a floating station that keeps the last coral reef at the right depth as the sea level rises. The facility has been running on a shoestring for years- but now a new crisis threatens to be the end of the ARC once and for all.

You can buy a copy of the first story here on TicTail – along with other work such as Heart Strings – and follow Liz on Tumblr here and Instagram here.

In second place was Aamir Zaheer with his entry “Genie’s New Lamp“. A light-hearted interpretation of the theme, and narrative pacing that meant for very enjoyable reading stood out in the judges’ eyes.

Third prize was taken by Karen Jiyun Sung whose entry “New Home” charmed the judges with its artistic style, panel layout, and overall concept.

The judges also commented that all of the shortlisted entrants should be incredibly proud of their achievement in making it this far in the competition. The large cross-section of styles of the shortlisted artists is a tribute to the exciting world of comic creation in the UK today.

The full list of prize winners

1st A.R.C – 01 by Elizabeth Garwood
2nd Genie’s New Lamp by Aamir Zaheer
3rd New Home Karen by Jiyun Sung
4th Care Home by Daniel Byron
5th So Far, Yet so Close by Enya Chong
6th Wondering Home by Josh Sims
7th Home in the Alternate Universe by Ariel Kendall
8th The Birth of Spearth by Jack Stephenson
9th Dad, Let’s go Homeby Chuqiao Liang
10th Home Heroes by Fumiko Sazawa

The Youth Prize for 2050 was won by Rebecca James and the Yonkoma Manga Winner for The Home Before the House was Otis Lea-Weston.

All the winning entries can be read in full at the Manga Jiman Winners’ Exhibition which is on now at the Embassy of Japan. Pages from all of the entries to the 2018 contest will also be digitally displayed and the Embassy’s Manga Wall will give you the opportunity to have a go at drawing your own manga character!

• Manga Jiman Winners’ Exhibition at the Embassy of Japan, 101-104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT is open until 28th March 2018. Open weekdays 09:30 – 17:30, closed weekends.

Open during half term (excluding weekends). Admission is free, but photo ID is necessary to gain entry to the Embassy

• For further information and updates on the Manga Jiman competition, visit the Facebook page and follow Manga Jiman on Twitter @mangajiman

• Follow the @japanuk20192020 to hear about exciting Manga events at the @britishmuseum , @japanhouseldn and elsewhere! #manga #exhibition #JapanUKSeason

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.