The Second Annual American Manga Awards Announces Its Winners
The 2nd Annual American Manga Awards ceremony was held on August 21st, 2025 at the historic Japan Society in New York City. The awards honored outstanding achievements in the world of Japanese comics and celebrated the best manga published in North America this past year.
The nominated works were voted on by professionals in the American manga publishing world such as recognized manga creators, letterers, translators, and publication designers who have made substantial contributions to the medium’s continued popularity growth in North America.
The 2025 American Manga Awards took place on the eve of Anime NYC and were presented by accomplished translator and author, Matt Alt. The ceremony featured appearances by manga creator guests from Japan who were honored with the first Anime NYC American Manga Award of Distinction.
“Anime NYC and Japan Society are proud to once again celebrate the incredible talent, creativity, and impact of the manga community. We’re thrilled to honor these storytellers and continue building a tradition that shines a spotlight on their work year after year,” said MK Goodwin, Anime NYC’s Event Director.
The award honors Anime NYC manga creators who have created extraordinary stories that feature groundbreaking, artistic and captivating visual storytelling.
The manga creators who received the American Manga Award of Distinction were:
Takeru Hokazono, Creator of Kagurabachi (Shonen Jump / Manga Plus by Shueisha)
Minetaro Mochizuki, Creator of Dragon Head, Hauntress (Kodansha), Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs (Dark Horse Manga) and Chiisakobee (coming in 2026 from Kana / Abrams)
Kengo Hanazawa, Creator of I Am a Hero (Dark Horse Manga) and Under Ninja (Denpa)
The American Manga Awards Manga Publishing Hall of Fame Honors recipients for 2025 were the founding members of Studio Proteus. The publishing and localization company has presented many legendary manga series to English-speaking audiences, including: Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow, Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, Domu by Katsuhiro Otomo, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki.
Tom Orzechowski (award-winning comics lettering pro) is a founding member of Studio Proteus who accepted the award on their behalf. Other members included Toren Smith (founder / editor), Tomoko Saito and Lois Athena Buhalis (letterers/retouch artists),Dana Lewis, Alan Gleason, and Frederik L. Schodt (translators) and Adam Warren (artist / assistant translator).
“Selecting Studio Proteus as the second recipients of the American Manga Awards Hall of Fame was the obvious choice, really,” said Deb Aoki, American Manga Awards committee chair. “At a time when few Japanese manga were published in English, Studio Proteus’ high standards for translation, lettering, and visual storytelling created the foundation for manga publishing in North America as we know it today.”
While the American Manga Award of Distinction and the Hall of Fame Honors were selected by the American Manga Awards committee, the rest of the award nominees were chosen by a panel of experts including: journalists, comic letterers, translators, and designers in manga.
To select the following winners, the voting was conducted solely by hundreds of professionals working in some editorial capacity within the North American manga publishing industry.
The Winners of the 2025 American Manga Awards
Best New Manga
The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All, Volume 1
Sumiko Arai
Yen Press
Editors: Shalini Arimilli, Carl Li
Translator: Ajani Oloye
Lettering: Brandon Bovia
KINI NATTERU HITO GA OTOKO JA NAKATTA © Sumiko Arai 2023 / KADOKAWA CORPORATION
Best Continuing Manga Series
The Apothecary Diaries (Manga), Volumes 12 – 13
Story by: Hyuganatsu
Art by: Nekokurage
Compiled by: Itsuki Nanao
Square Enix Manga & Books
Editor: Tania Biswas
Translator: Julie Goniwich
Letterer: Lys Blakeslee
Cover Designer: Andrea Miller
© 2024 Hyuganatsu/Imagica Infos Co.,Ltd. © 2024 Nekokurage/SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. © 2024 Itsuki Nanao/SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
Best New Edition of Classic Manga
Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Volumes 1-2
Asao Takamori, Tetsuya Chiba
Kodansha
Editor: Daniel Joseph
Translator: Asa Yoneda
Lettering: Evan Hayden
Production: Risa Cho, Pei Ann Yeap
Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow © Asao Takamori / Tetsuya Chiba / KODANSHA LTD.
Best One-Shot Manga
Fumi Yoshinaga
Yen Press
Editors: Anna McClain-Sims, JuYoun Lee
Translator: Taylor Engel
Lettering: Adnazeer Mcalangcom
TAMAKI TO AMANE © 2023 by Fumi Yoshinaga/SHUEISHA Inc.
Best Translation
minami
The Otaku Love Connection, Volume 1
Chu Amairo
Square Enix Manga & Books
Editor: Sarah Tangney
Letterer: Brandon Bovia, Dietrich Premier
Cover Designer: Yang Kim
© Chu Amairo/SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
Best Lettering
Evan Hayden
for Ashita No Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Volumes 1-2
Asao Takamori, Tetsuya Chiba
Kodansha
Editor: Daniel Joseph
Production: Risa Cho, Pei Ann Yeap
Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow © Asao Takamori / Tetsuya Chiba / KODANSHA LTD.
Best Publication Design
Riley VanDyke and Carl Gustav Horn
Planetes Deluxe Edition Book 1
Makoto Yukimura
Dark Horse Manga
Editor: Carl Gustav Horn
Translator: Yuki Johnson
Director of Print Production: Jessica Clark
PLANETES DELUXE EDITION BOOK ONE © 2025 Makoto Yukimura. First published in Japan in 2001 by Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo. Publication rights for this Dark Horse Manga edition arranged through Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo.
The event was supported by sponsors VIZ Media, Nakama Press by Mad Cave Studios, Saturday AM, hoopla, KOMODO, and the DeYoung Museum “Art of Manga” exhibition. The full ceremony will be available to watch on VOD in the coming weeks on the American Manga Awards website.
Note: The information above was sourced from a press release.
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