'Sousou no Frieren' Wins Manga Taisho Award for 2021

by Snow
Mar 16, 2021 2:38 PM | 16 Comments

The 2021 award list for the 14th edition of Manga Taisho, an annual Japanese manga award, has been announced. The award is decided by a panel of bookstore clerks who select the best title from manga series which have fewer than eight volumes and have released at least one volume in the last year. The first voting round decides the nominees, and the second decides the final ranking.

*1.　91 pts　Sousou no Frieren [Adventure, Fantasy, Shounen] by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe
*2.　67 pts　Chi: Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite [Drama] by Uotou
*3.　64 pts　Karaoke Iko! [Drama] by Yama Wayama
*4.　60 pts　Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru [Romance, Shounen, Slice of Life] by Rettou Tajima
*5.　59 pts　Oshi no Ko [Drama, Music, Seinen, Supernatural] by Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari
*6.　58 pts　Kaijuu 8-gou [Action, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Shounen] by Naoya Matsumoto
*7.　57 pts　Onna no Sono no Hoshi [Comedy, Josei, School, Slice of Life] by Yama Wayama
*8.　48 pts　Metamorphose no Engawa [Slice of Life] by Kaori Tsurutani
*9.　46 pts　Kowloon Generic Romance [Drama, Romance, Seinen, Slice of Life] by Jun Mayuzuki
10.　38 pts　Spy x Family [Action, Comedy, Shounen] by Tatsuya Endou

Source: Comic Natalie

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16 Comments Recent Comments

I hope Karaoke Iko! gets a translation, it was rated highly on Kono Manga ga Sugoi too.

Mar 17, 2021 7:25 AM by CelesteElaine

Honestly didn’t know most of these titles but here’s to hoping for anime adaption(s)!

Congratulations to all the fans and creators of the series, by the way!

Mar 17, 2021 1:35 AM by _MushiRock11_

A wonderful change from most isekai and fantasy stories that are mostly just about levels, killing monsters, building harems. Each of the characters here actually has a story, character and depth, strengths, weaknesses and real plot motivation.

The comic is nicely drawn - I also like that she actually looks like an elf, both the more petite body type and the very detailed ears. Not one of the usual melon-chested elves with simple long, pointy ears.

Dwarves are there too.

Even enemies like demons are not somehow misunderstood human-like creatures with horns and some flimsy motivations, but real, vicious monsters that exist for nothing more than to harm and deceive.

By the way, the internet is full of weird weebs, some of them care more about their anime than other people's lives, as seen with the earthquake in Japan. I would love to see the creators of Violet Evergarden for the anime adaptation.

Mar 16, 2021 10:23 PM by Semaliia

alpha_shadow said:
It really doesn't deserve it, but I guess 2020 was a pretty lackluster year in terms of new manga serializations. Frieren really isn't anything special, what I read of it was pretty bad tbh. It's one of those waifu driven manga, if you don't care for the waifu Frieren, then you get nothing out of the boring story.

Either way, SxF or Kaiju 8 should have won imo, but they're both more successful in sales so I guess it's fine.

Well that is a terrible opinion. Regardless if you like a series or not just because it has a main female cast doesn't mean it's waifu driven? You might as well say any male main character you don't personally like is a husbando driven series.

Anyway personally I don't really like how Japan usually tackles European medieval high fantasy so I am pretty happy with it. Frieren reminds me a lot of Mushishi just in a European high fantasy setting.

Mar 16, 2021 7:55 PM by BilboBaggins365

Definitely one of the best manga of all time.
100% deserved.

Mar 16, 2021 6:50 PM by Judevin

Damn, how many times has SxF and it's fans been BTFO... kek

Mar 16, 2021 5:35 PM by NewYearSameMe

Totally 100% deserves it.

I haven't enjoyed a manga like it in awhile now, I love it. I guess I'll check out some of the other manga on the list like Monster 8.

Mar 16, 2021 4:53 PM by AntwanMantilla

how the hell it's waifu oriented when both main female character are barely do something that act "waifu appeal".

personally i was more attracted to it's nostalgia atmosphere and reminiscence of the past retracing and rethinking relationship of people, from the past and present. how time change stuff we familiar with with something we unfamiliar. how to deal when we have to facing reality that time passed without a single ounce care about us.

Mar 16, 2021 4:25 PM by Kuma

It's fine if you don't like the story but to say a manga is waifu/husbando driven just because of the main character's gender is a bit narrow minded. It would be more appropriate to say if you don't like the character then there's a chance you may not like the story. When I think of 'waifu' driven manga I associate it with more on the lines of guilty pleasure manga which focus around harems and I don't really put this manga in that same category.

Mar 16, 2021 4:23 PM by EsPwnage

Sousou no Frieren fully deserves the award. It's been one of my favourites manga in recent times, and hopefully, this award helps show how amazing this manga is.

Mar 16, 2021 4:15 PM by Phloup

I really enjoy Frieren, it has a nice slice of life pace and answers that question "so what happens after the demon king is slain?"

Mar 16, 2021 3:51 PM by nexist418

The manga was never waifu driven for me.

It was moreso about reliving your past life and giving another glimpse to things you once took for granted. It's about recollection and considering the emotional weight behind the things that shaped you, something that Frieren wasn't able to do the first time around. It's a very narrow perspective to only look it at it from a waifu point of view

Mar 16, 2021 3:50 PM by --l--

I was planning to read this for a long time but I can't seem to muster up my enthusiasm to read this. Maybe one day. Congratulation to the author and his/her team on this.

Mar 16, 2021 3:47 PM by imapleb

It really doesn't deserve it, but I guess 2020 was a pretty lackluster year in terms of new manga serializations. Frieren really isn't anything special, what I read of it was pretty bad tbh. It's one of those waifu driven manga, if you don't care for the waifu Frieren, then you get nothing out of the boring story.

Either way, SxF or Kaiju 8 should have won imo, but they're both more successful in sales so I guess it's fine.

Mar 16, 2021 3:15 PM by alpha_shadow

Well consider me interested, guess I'm adding another manga to my read list.

Mar 16, 2021 3:08 PM by JokerVentura

For a moment there I thought this got an anime announced, that's good to hear, I am not too big on this series but it deserved the win. GG.

Mar 16, 2021 3:03 PM by NextUniverse

Related Database Entries

Manga:	Sousou no Frieren, Karaoke Iko!, Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru, "Oshi no Ko", Kaijuu 8-gou, Onna no Sono no Hoshi, Metamorphose no Engawa, Kowloon Generic Romance, Spy x Family