Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man was awarded the Best Manga award at this year's Harvey Awards, while legendary manga artist and Inuyasha creator Rumiko Takahashi was inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame.
The Harvey Award winners were announced at this year's New York Comic-Con. The convention has hosted the long-running comic-focused awards ceremony since 2017. Chainsaw Man took home the Best Manga award, beating out the other critically acclaimed nominees: Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo, Remina by horror manga author Junji Ito, the transgender coming-of-age story Boys Run the Riot by Keito Gaku, and finally Asadora, the latest work by 20th Century Boys' Naoki Urasawa. Fujimoto accepted the award with a characteristically funny and self-effacing statement, saying "I consider this crude manga of mine unbefitting of any award, but I plan to continue packing it full of all the things I love." Fujimoto also added, "If you ever happen to be handing out awards again, hit me up!"
Very cool - 2021 @HarveyAwards for best manga goes to Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto fr. @VIZMedia https://t.co/fDBwkRwoyG pic.twitter.com/DbnHvAX74u
— Deb Aoki (@debaoki) October 9, 2021
2021 @HarveyAwards Hall of Fame inductee is Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Inu-Yasha, Maison Ikkoku and so much more - here’s here acceptance message, via @VIZMedia pic.twitter.com/50rcmbr0iS
— Deb Aoki (@debaoki) October 9, 2021
Rumiko Takahashi was inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame, which also includes comic legends such as Steve Ditko, Jean Giraud (also known as Moebius,) and John Romita Sr. Takahashi is now best known for international smash-hit fantasy series Inuyasha, but even before that series began, Takahashi was already regarded as one of the top creators in the manga industry for her multiple hit comedy series, such as Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku. In addition to her new place in the Harvey Award's Hall of Fame, Takahashi was previously inducted in the Eisner Award's Hall of Fame, and was previously awarded with a lifetime achievement award at France's Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême and awarded a Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon by the Japanese government for her contributions to the arts.
"Thank you so much for this wonderful award. I am so honored that American readers have enjoyed my work," Takahashi said in a statement. "The world is in hardship due to Covid, but I hope my manga can provide some comfort," Takahashi said.
While all of Takahashi's works are celebrated, her 1996 shonen fantasy series Inuyasha has achieved the most international success, with over 50 million copies in circulation worldwide. The anime adaptation was featured on Cartoon Network's Toonami block in the early '00s, and was one of the premier titles of the anime boom that occurred in the first half of the decade, with VIZ Media stating that it sold over 2 million DVDs of the series. A sequel series to Inuyasha, entitled Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, began airing in 2020. While the series isn't written by Takahashi herself, it does feature the return of many of the cast and crew of the original anime and features character designs by Takahashi. A second season of the series will premiere this fall.
Source: Twitter
