Kadokawa Opens Second World Manga Contest
The contest is Kadokawa's pipeline for finding manga creators outside Japan and moving them toward serialization, and the first edition shows that pipeline already produced a commercially published serial.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
Kadokawa will accept entries for the second Kadokawa World Manga Contest from September 7, 2026, through February 28, 2027, with winners announced around May 2027. The contest keeps the Manga With Dialogue and Wordless Manga categories, judged by Kadokawa editors and the organizing team. The first edition drew 1,959 entries from 118 countries and regions, and Kadokawa assigns editors to winners to develop their work toward a serialized debut.
The contest keeps both categories from the first edition: Manga With Dialogue and Wordless Manga, judged by Kadokawa editors and the organizing team. Winners receive prize money, an invitation to an awards ceremony in Japan, and an assigned editor who works with them toward a potential serialized debut.
Kadokawa points to the Wordless World Manga Contest, started in 2024, as the predecessor. That contest was expanded and renamed in 2025, when the Manga With Dialogue category was added and entries were accepted in Japanese, English, Spanish, French, and Traditional Chinese. Winners from both editions are still being developed by editorial teams.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.