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The results are in and the 2016 Manga Taisho goes to Golden Kamuy.

First awarded in 2008, the Manga Taisho (“manga grand prize”) is an annual Japanese manga award which is given only to series with eight or fewer collected volumes. This year, 11 titles that had at least one volume published between January 1 and December 31, 2015 were nominated, and Satoru Noda’s Golden Kamuy (also romanized as Golden Kamui) took home the grand prize.

▼ The first volume of Golden Kamuy

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Golden Kamuy is notable for incorporating elements of Hokkaido and Ainu culture in its survival adventure story about a man who teams up with an Ainu girl to find a hidden stash of gold. The series premiered in August 2014 and is currently being serialized in Weekly Young Jump magazine, with six compiled volumes as of this writing.

▼ Manga author Satoru Noda accepting the award

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▼ A hand-drawn thank you message from Noda for receiving the award

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The final ranked listing of all 11 nominees is as follows:

1. Golden Kamuy by Satoru Noda

2. Dungeon Meshi by Ryoko Kui

3. Blue Giant by Shinichi Ishizuka

4. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi by Kei Sanbe

5. Hyakumanjo Labyrinth by Takamichi

6. Nami yo Kiite Kure by Hiroaki Samura

7. Koi wa Ameagari no Yo ni by Jun Mayuzuki

8. Machida-kun no Sekai by Yuki Ando

9. Tokyo Tarareba Musume by Akiko Higashimura

10. Okazaki ni Sasagu by Saho Yamamoto

11. Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro by Ipyao and Yujiro Koyama

Golden Kamuy joins the ranks of previous Manga Taisho award winners, which includes the most recent winners Kakukaku Shikajika (2015), A Bride’s Story (2014), Umimachi Diary (2013), and Silver Spoon (2012).

Sources: Manga Taisho via Comic Natalie
Featured image: Manga Taisho
Insert images: Manga Taisho, Amazon Japan