Taiwanese manga wins silver prize at Japan intl' award

Tokyo, Jan. 18 (CNA) The manga "The Banana Sprout vol.2" (芭蕉的芽) by Taiwanese mangaka Zuo Hsuan (左萱) has won a silver award at the 18th Japan International Manga Award, the organizers announced on Thursday.

This marked Zuo's highest achievement at the award, after earning a bronze prize at the 10th edition with her "Summer Temple Festival I" (神之鄉).

Her award-winning story, set in 1930s Taipei, portrays two lead characters with vastly different personalities studying at Taihoku High School (now National Taiwan Normal University), according to a Cultural Ministry statement.

Zuo told CNA that she was struggling to come up with a fitting idea for a period drama featuring an ensemble cast that can be developed in length before the creation of this story.

In 2022, she visited her alma mater National Taiwan Normal University for its 100th anniversary and found the perfect stage for her story when she read historical materials about the school's art creations.

The materials provided her with stories of youth, creation and struggles in the pursuit of dreams, she said.

Zuo said she wove in details in the script and dialogues that would resonate with Taiwanese readers such as proverbs in the prominent dialect Taiwanese Hokkien, guest appearances from famous writers in Taiwan's literary history, and issues that can connect contemporary readers with high school students from a century ago.

However, she was uncertain about how overseas readers would react to the elements familiar to Taiwanese readers.

On this account, she was very happy to win the silver prize for the manga, and she hoped the award signals that her story would travel around the world.

Because Zuo had planned to develop a long story with the manga, the award gave her "precious fuel to keep moving forward," she said.

"I hope I can keep bringing more mature and satisfying sequels to everyone," she said.

The Taiwan Cultural Center in Tokyo on Saturday celebrated Zuo's achievements on behalf of Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠).

In a news statement, Li was quoted as saying that the government has provided support and resources to make the manga industry in Taiwan more robust.

The ministry will continue to support mangakas and the industry to ensure Taiwanese mangas shine on the global stage, he said.

According to the statement, the 18th award received a record number of 716 submissions, among which one Gold Award, three Silver Awards and 11 Bronze Awards were chosen.

The winner of the Gold Award is "The Forest Mermaid" by Brazilian mangaka Hiro Kawahara, according to the awards website.