Everybody loves an awards ceremony. And if movies can have the Oscars, Broadway theater can have the Tonys, and comics can have, uh, the Eisner Awards, why should manga feel left out! And, later this summer, the organizers of New York City’s Anime NYC convention will be holding a gala awards ceremony for the English-speaking manga community. The American Manga Awards was launched last year, and for 2025, the awards will be presented in seven different categories for titles, along with potentially several individuals selected for induction into a Manga Publishing Hall of Fame.
What is particularly noteworthy especially from the perspective of manga studies is who will actually be deciding on the winning titles. Yes, the judges are journalists, publishing and comics industry professionals, translators, and essentially, media personalities. But, one is very possibly currently the leading academic expert on Japanese comics currently working and teaching in the U.S., and another, a school librarian (and Queens College School of Library and Information Science adjunct professor), who just recently steered the publication of a guide to introducing manga in school settings for the American Association of School Librarians.
Dr. Shige (CJ) Suzuki is currently an associate professor in the department of modern languages and comparative literature at Baruch College (City University of New York). His latest publication is the chapter Comics at the intersection of womanhood and disability: Essay manga, affect, and community, in the essay collection Women’s Voices in Manga: Japanese Cultural and Historical Perspectives, and he also recently contributed a Gekiga, or Japanese alternative comics chapter to the new second edition of the textbook Introducing Japanese Popular Culture. In 2023, Prof. Suzuki co-authored the Bloomsbury Comics Studies monograph Manga: A Critical Guide – currently the major comprehensive overview of Japanese comics that is available in English. He speaks frequently at various academic conferences around the U.S. and in Japan, and is currently working on a full-length book on Japanese alternative comics.
Yes, the American Manga Awards are one single, specific, and unique event. But, nonetheless, I would like to think that the organizers’ decision to invite Prof. Suzuki to serve as one of the judges is a great example of how the contributions that scholars are making to the public reception of Japanese comics around the world is being recognized and acknowledged.
The post Manga Scholar and Manga Librarian at the Manga Awards! appeared first on Anime and Manga Studies.
The post Manga Scholar and Manga Librarian at the Manga Awards! appeared first on Anime and Manga Studies.
