MangaCast has announced the winners of the inaugural Yomi awards. Brigid at MangaBlog and David at Love Manga have given their reactions, and, well, these are a lot more interesting to me than the Eisners, so I’ll throw in my two cents.
I think these awards are such a great idea and long overdue, so thanks to MangaCast for taking the initiative. It will be fun watching them expand over the years. (I’d love to see a category for “Most Improved Publisher,” for example.)
I’ve got no argument with the choices for Best Manga and Best Short. I sometimes feel like Fullmetal Alchemist’s popularity obscures the fact that it’s really, really excellent. It’s got great characters, an engaging and suspenseful story, and a richly realized fantasy landscape that’s full of surprises. In the eight volumes that have been published in English so far, Hiromu Arakawa has yet to miss a beat or hit a lull; the consistency and quality is startling.
I never felt like Sexy Voice and Robo got as much attention as it deserved. Iou Kuroda’s created an imaginative, quirky, complex story that featured the perfect blend of cynicism and warmth. Someone really needs to license more of Kuroda’s work, and soon, but it will probably never happen.
I’m disappointed that Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators didn’t take Best Global Manga. Svetlana Chmakova is undeniably talented, but the ambition and artistry in Fanfare/Ponent Mon’s collection make it one of the best graphic novels of the year, period.
The tough thing about the Best Publisher category is that one could make a case for any of the three winning. Viz clearly has the scope of product to make it a contender (and a lot of that product is excellent). Del Rey shows more care in selecting and producing titles than any other manga publisher. And Dark Horse, despite its roots in the Direct Market, consistently generates a lot of buzz with interesting title choices, including a new emphasis on classic and cutting-edge horror, their not entirely successful but laudable Harlequin initiative, and their standing as the leading purveyor of works by Kazuo Koike.
But Viz is, among many other things, a juggernaut. They’ve built on their existing line with Shojo Beat and Signature, reaching out (or at least more energetically targeting) different audiences. And a lot of their books are great entertainment.
Again, thanks to all the folks at MangaCast for launching this great program, and additional thanks to Ed Chavez for his splendid coverage of the San Diego Comic-Con.