Taiwanese manga creators win gold, bronze at world manga contest

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Taiwanese manga creators Eli Lin (依萊) and MurJi won gold and bronze prizes, respectively, in the KADOKAWA World Manga Contest's Wordless Manga category, organizers announced last Friday.

Another Taiwanese creator, JASONZ, received an honorable mention for the work "JOHNNY B. GOOD IS GONNA BE GOOD," among four others.

Lin's "Cells Within the Body" was praised by the Comic Regulus editorial team for reaffirming that "manga's true strength lies not in dialogue, but in its ability to communicate through images."

They also commended Lin's "remarkable storytelling ability" and described the work as "a perfect embodiment of the kind of talent that a 'wordless' manga contest can bring to light."

Winners of the contest's gold, silver and bronze prizes receive prizes of US$10,000, US$5,000 and US$3,000, respectively. They also receive editorial support from KADOKAWA managing editors aimed at helping bring their works to commercial serialization and publication.

The winning works will also be published on Kadocomi, KADOKAWA's online manga platform.

Culture Minister Li Yuan (李遠) congratulated the winners, saying Taiwanese manga creators continue to demonstrate strong creative energy in publishing and international engagement while showcasing Taiwan's diverse culture and creativity to global audiences.

Taiwan's representative to Japan, Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), also extended his congratulations, saying that outstanding Taiwanese works help more Japanese readers understand and appreciate Taiwan. He added that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan will continue supporting the development of Taiwanese artists and cultural industries in Japan.

Now in its second year, the KADOKAWA World Manga Contest attracted 1,959 submissions from 118 countries and regions, according to organizer KADOKAWA Corp., a Japan-based entertainment company.