Taiwanese manga creators win in ‘wordless’ category

Taiwanese manga creators Eli Lin (依萊) and MurJi won gold and bronze respectively in the Wordless Manga category at the Kadokawa World Manga Contest, the organizers announced on Friday last week, while another Taiwanese creator, JASONZ, received an honorable mention for the work Johnny B. Good is Gonna be Good.

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.”

Photo from the Kadokawa World Manga Contest Web site

The winners of the contest’s gold, silver and bronze prizes received US$10,000, US$5,000 and US$3,000 respectively.

They also receive editorial support from Kadokawa’s managing editors aimed at helping bring their works to commercial serialization and publication.

The winning works are to be published on Kadocomi, the online manga platform of Tokyo-based Kadokawa Corp, which organizes the event.

Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) congratulated the winners, saying that 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.

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.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan would continue to support the development of Taiwanese artists and cultural industries in Japan, Lee said.

The second annual Kadokawa World Manga Contest attracted 1,959 submissions from 118 countries and regions, Kadokawa said.