Nguyen Thanh Phong delivers his speech at the award ceremony. (Photo: VNA) Tokyo (VNA) – Nguyen Thanh Phong and Nguyen Khanh Duong have become the silver-award winner of the 9th Japanese International Manga Award with their work, titled “Long than tuong” (Holy Dragon Imperator).
They were among 14 winners selected from 259 submissions by artists across 46 countries and territories. This year’s gold award belongs to an Israeli artist group with a manga called “The Divine”.
Long Than Tuong is a historical story, with some fictional details, about a young man named Long (Dragon) who lived during the reign of the Tran dynasty (1225-1400), a time when the country faced a second Mongolian invasion. This period saw one of the most heroic chapters being scripted in the nation's history.
When receiving the award, Phong said he and his partner were amazed at the prize.
He thanked the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for holding the meaningful competition, which has enabled Vietnamese artists to introduce their work as well as their country’s culture and history to international friends.
Established by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007, the annual International Manga Award aims to encourage non-Japanese manga artists and honour their works.
There were 317 entries from 46 countries and regions in the 8th International Manga Award , with Bumbardai, a comic by Nambaral Erdenebayar of Mongolia winning the Gold Award.
Bumbardai is the story about the connection of a mother and a son, and Mongolian traditional life connected to Mother Nature. Five-year-old Bumbardai, carrying his basket and rake, bravely leaves his house in a snowstorm to find faeces for fuel for his sick mother. But a challenging trip awaits him.-VNA
