7th Manga Division Excellence Award

TENZIN-SAN

Manga published in book form, in magazine

KIMURA Naomi [Japan]

Reason for Award

The story of “Tenjin-san” is set in the Meiji period when Western medicine was lionized as the medicine of the modern age and where a genius acupuncturist named “Tenjin” played an active role. While there are many works with medical themes these days, this work goes beyond simple medical manga and skillfully depicts the way of life of the common people living in the troubled Meiji period, as well as their distrust and expectations of medical care. While the work gives the impression of being out-of-dated at first sight because it is about a world of low-key acupuncture, this is actually a thoughtful medical manga that was put together at a good round pace despite little data for drawing.