Source: TOKYOPOP press release
Special Thanks to Erik Jansen (MediaLab)
Photo courtesy of MediaLab.
Publisher TOKYOPOP has announced that its acclaimed manga, A Smart and Courageous Child, has been nominated for a 2025 American Manga Award in the category of Best One-Shot.
Created by Miki Yamamoto, the manga poignantly examines how a first-time mother works through her fears of bringing a child into a dangerous and uncertain world and learns to evaluate her worries, process her fears, and ultimately choose positivity over uncertainty and paranoia.
The winners of the American Manga Awards will be determined by votes from professionals working in an editorial capacity with North American manga publishers. Voter registration for the American Manga Awards is open through July 21 and is voting open until July 24. The awards will take place on August 21, 2025, at the Japan Society in New York City and will be held in conjunction with the 2025 Anime NYC Festival which takes place at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Manhattan August 21–24.
Vote today at: https://animenyc.com/american-manga-awards/voter-registration/
A Smart and Courageous Child was also the winner of the 24th Manga Division Excellence Award at the 2020 Japan Media Arts Festival.
A Smart and Courageous Child, by Miki Yamamoto ∙ Print SRP: $13.99 ∙ 224 pages ∙ ISBN: 9781427877192 ∙ For Mature Audiences ∙ Available Now
Every young couple has high hopes for their unborn child, and Sara and Kouta Takano are no different. But only days away from giving birth, Sara learns about the tragedy of the attempted assassination of Pakastani female rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai's by the Taliban, and her pure and innocent belief in the future is shaken. If such a smart and courageous child can be hurt so badly by the world, how can she keep her own baby safe? With Sara now in a state of shock, will the young couple be able to bridge the widening gap between them, or will it tear their family apart?
The reality of this world, as seen through the eyes of an author that has spent years illustrating the women and their lives.
The single-volume, full-color edition is published in-print and digitally under TOKYOPOP’s “Comics That Matter” initiative that utilizes the graphic novel medium to raise awareness about important causes and social issues.
Miki Yamamoto is a manga artist and assistant professor at Tsukuba University, Faculty of Art and Design. She debuted in 2011 with Bakudan to Ribon (A Ribbon and a Bomb) (Sansai Books). In 2012, she released Sunny Sunny Ann! (Kodansha) and won the 17th Osamu Tezuka Cultural prize New Face Award. The title was published in French in 2018 and was also an official selection for the 2019 Angoulême International Comics Festival.
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About TOKYOPOP
Founded in 1997, TOKYOPOP brings Asian pop culture to Hollywood and beyond. TOKYOPOP established the market for manga in North America, introducing the term to the English language in the process, and expanding the market in Germany, publishing thousands of books in both languages, distributing anime and Asian films on home video and television, licensing merchandise to consumer goods and companies, and creating graphic novels of both original content and major IP adaptations. TOKYOPOP’s core values focus on multiculturism and diversity; aestheticism and artistic integrity; and passionate and positive storytelling. More information at: https://www.tokyopop.com/.