The landscape of manga in Japan is always in turmoil, with several titles being published by various publishing houses. However, very few are able to establish themselves and win the various prizes, as is happening to the young Sousou no Frieren. The Shogakukan home manga will once again challenge other titles for the Kodansha Manga Award.
Below are all the candidates on the list with the magazine of origin and the Japanese publishing house that holds the rights in brackets. The winners will be announced on May 13, 2021, one per category.
For the shonen category we find in the list:
- Fire Force di Ohkubo Atsushi (Weekly Shonen Magazine / Kodansha)
- Sousou No Frieren di Yamada Kanehito (storia) e Abe Tsukasa (Disegni) (Weekly Shonen Sunday / Shogakukan)
- That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime di Fuse (creatore originale), Kawakami Taiki (manga) e Mitzvah (character designer) (Monthly Shonen Sirius/Kodansha)
- Blue Lock di Kaneshiro Muneyuki (storia) e Nomura Yusuke (disegni) (Weekly Shonen Magazine / Kodansha)
For the shojo category were instead candidates:
- Kurosaki-kun no Iinari ni Nante Naranai di Makino (Bessatsu Friend / Kodansha)
- Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai di Morino Megumi (Dessert / Kodansha)
- Honey Lemon Soda di Murata Mayu (Ribon / Shueisha)
- Yubisaki to Renren di Morishita Shuu (Dessert / Kodansha)
Finally, the general category sees five titles in nomination:
- Aono-kun ni Sawaritai kara Shinitai di Shiina Umi (Afternoon / Kodansha)
- Ase to Sekken di Yamada Kintetsu (Morning / Kodansha)
- Hakozume ~ Koban Joshi no Gyakushuu ~ di Yasu Miko (Morning / Kodansha)
- Futari Solo Camp di Debata Yudai (Evening / Kodansha)
- Yuria-sensei no Akai Ito di Irie Kiwa (Be Love / Kodansha)
Blue Lock has recently been announced by Planet Manga for distribution in Italy.