Tokyo: Taiwanese manga creators Eli Lin and MurJi attended the Kadokawa World Manga Contest awards ceremony, where they received the gold and bronze prizes, respectively, in the contest's Wordless Manga category.
According to Focus Taiwan, the contest, organized by leading Japanese publisher Kadokawa, attracted 1,959 entries from 118 countries and regions, with the winners announced in May 2026. The competition awarded monetary prizes of US$10,000, US$5,000, and US$3,000 for the gold, silver, and bronze winners, respectively.
The awards ceremony in Tokyo brought together the six creators who won prizes in the Manga and Wordless Manga categories, with winners hailing from Taiwan, Vietnam, France, and Switzerland. Eli Lin's work, "Cells Within the Body," earned her the Gold Prize in the Wordless Manga category, praised by head judge Noboru Segawa for its delicate artwork and storytelling through images.
In her acceptance speech, Lin credited Taiwan's Ministry of Culture for supporting her transition from an office worker to a professional manga creator. She expressed her amazement at receiving the award in Tokyo and thanked everyone who supported her journey.
MurJi, who won the Bronze Prize for her work "Hitokuji," was commended for its "overwhelming cuteness" by Segawa. She shared her aspiration to create manga that offers comfort and joy, similar to her own experiences with manga. Delivering her speech in Japanese, MurJi expressed her delight in having her work recognized.
The winning works will be published on Kadocomi, Kadokawa's online manga platform. Kadokawa is renowned for publishing influential series like "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and the manga adaptation of "Your Name."