Two other manga series were also awarded in different categories.
The 2025 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize finally announced its overall winner. The grand prize was secured by Rintarō’s autobiographical manga series My Life at 24 Frames per Second, published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha.
The manga was nominated in the top 7 along with other groundbreaking work such as Oshi No Ko and Battle Scar. However, the famous director’s beautiful work was awarded as the best. Rintarō is known for directing anime movies such as Mighty Atom:the Brave in Space, Galaxy Express 999, and Metropolis.
Other Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize winners
On the other hand, the New Creator Prize award went to When the Chameleon Flowers Bloom by Shiho Kido. Published by Kodansha, this manga focuses on Shigaraki, whose tantrums and unpredictable behaviour has branded him as an outsider. One day, the model student Shimizu catches a glimpse of Shigaraki’s beautiful clay art, and is immediately captivated by it. He then becomes obsessed with Shigaraki’s art, giving birth to an unlikely friendship between the two.
The Short Work Prize was awarded to Shunji Enomoto’s The Kinks. Once again published by Kodansha, this work is an anthology series about familial stories and everyday events.
While the Yokote City Masuda Manga Art Foundation, which runs the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum, has won the Special Prize this year for their contribution in the preservation and spread of manga.
The award is hosted in the memory of Osamu Tezuka, the legendary manga writer who created groundbreaking series such as Astro Boy, Black Jack, Buddha, Phoenix, Princess Knight, and Kimba the White Lion. He is often touted as ‘The Father of Manga’.
In 2024, this prestigious award was won by PLINIVS by Mari Yamazaki and Miki Tori. The New Creator Prize was awarded to Kanda Gokura-chō Shokunin-Banashi by Akihito Sakaue while the Short Work Prize was won by Tsuyukusa Natsuko no Isshō by Miri Masuda.
Previously, Orb: On the Movements of Earth by Uoto (2022), Golden Kamuy by Satoru Noda (2018), Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara (2013), Ōoku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga (2009), Pluto by Naoki Urasawa, Osamu Tezuka and Takashi Nagasaki (2005), Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue (2001), Monster by Naoki Urasawa (1999), and Doraemon by Fujiko F. Fujio (1997) also won the grand prize.
