The results of the Manga Jiman 2013 Competition were announced at a reception held at the Embassy of Japan on Friday 21 March. The major manga-writing competition, now in its seventh year, continues to grow in popularity and unearth young, upcoming manga artists in the UK.

The first prize was awarded to Katja Hammond for her entry ‘Oh Crumbs!’. Manga artist, Kiriko Kubo, one of the five judges of the competition, commented that the winning entry contained “skillful and beautiful drawing, very lively characters, a nice layout, and also, her story is well planned, with a clever twist and fine landing at the end. Miss Hammond’s work is excellent and we (all the judges) agreed to her winning (the competition).”

‘The Apocalypse and Key’, by Rachel Dunn, received the runners-up prize while ‘A Beautiful World’ by Selina Dean was placed third.

by Rachel Dunn in 2nd place

Fellow judge Paul Gravett, manga historian, author and journalist, explained that “Selina's crisp, clear design and fine screen work really enhance her tender-hearted story. The judges admired her poetic, mostly silent story which follows a little boat sending a message from a traveller to his loved one.” And of Rachel’s entry he added “this truly British manga is set in a typical pub whose customers happen to drop in from all sorts of crazy timezones and dimensions. We were impressed by Rachel's strong characterisation, inventive layouts and polished artwork and can't wait to read what happens next to her young pub landlord!”

Megan Brennan-Dent won the prize for the most impressive Manga by an entrant aged between fourteen and sixteen and her entry also placed sixth overall.

Ms Kubo added that Megan’s drawing “is definitely the best entry from the entrants aged under 16, and is at the same level with the finalists in this competition. The story is very conceptual about Death and Hope, and she describes it very well. The balance of black and white is also beautiful.”

JICC