The list of contenders for the Manga Taisho 2026 award was revealed today. It narrows a wide field of recent releases down to 12 manga series that judges believe are especially easy to recommend to friends.
The award will be determined by a panel of 94 judges made up largely of Japanese bookshop employees, along with other manga professionals. So, it gives the selection process a perspective rooted in day-to-day reader recommendations rather than industry promotion.
From an initial pool of 249 proposed works, each judge nominated up to five titles. Only manga published in 2025, with fewer than 8 volumes, and without a previous Manga Taisho win, were eligible. After the first round of voting, just 12 series remained in contention.
The nominees for Manga Taisho 2026
- Kaiju wo Kaibo Suru by Mado Saito (Dissecting a Monster)
- Strikeout Pitch by Kyu Sumiyoshi
- Home at the Horizon by Taiyo Watabe
- The Devil’s in the Lunch Deals by Ishiko
- Imoto wa Shitte Iru by Mari Gangi (My Little Sister Knows)
- Danmitsu by Toru Seino
- Tomodachi Datta Hito by Miya Kinuta (My Former Friend: A Collection of Works)
- RIOT by Yuta Tsukada
- Robo no Fujii by Kurao Nabe (Fujii by the Roadside)
- Maison and the Man-Eating Apartment written by Ku Tanaka and illustrated by Akima
- Honnara Uruhodo by Ao Kojima (I’d Sell Enough Books)
- Ichi the Witch written by Osamu Nishi and illustrated by Shiro Usazaki
Once the judges have read all 12 nominated works, they will each select their top three favourites and assign scores. They will tally the results, and the highest-scoring title will become the Manga Taisho 2026 winner.
The final announcement will be in late March. To learn more about the nominees, head over to the official website.
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