Tokyopop Earns American Manga Awards Nomination For ‘A Smart And Courageous Child’
by Brendan M. Allen
Tokyopop has been nominated for a 2025 American Manga Award in the category of Best One-Shot for A Smart And Courageous Child.
Created by Miki Yamamoto, the manga poignantly examines how a first-time mother works through her fears of bringing a child into a dangerous and uncertain world. She learns to evaluate her worries, process her fears, and ultimately choose positivity over uncertainty and paranoia.
The winners of the American Manga Awards will be determined by votes from professionals working in an editorial capacity with North American manga publishers. Voter registration for the American Manga Awards is open through July 21 and is voting open until July 24. The awards will take place on August 21, 2025, at the Japan Society in New York City and will be held in conjunction with the 2025 Anime NYC Festival which takes place at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Manhattan August 21–24.
A Smart And Courageous Child was also the winner of the 24th Manga Division Excellence Award at the 2020 Japan Media Arts Festival.
Every young couple has high hopes for their unborn child, and Sara and Kouta Takano are no different. But only days away from giving birth, Sara learns about the tragedy of the attempted assassination of Pakastani female rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai’s by the Taliban, and her pure and innocent belief in the future is shaken.
If such a smart and courageous child can be hurt so badly by the world, how can she keep her own baby safe? With Sara now in a state of shock, will the young couple be able to bridge the widening gap between them, or will it tear their family apart?
The single-volume, full-color edition is published in-print and digitally under TOKYOPOP’s “Comics That Matter” initiative that utilizes the graphic novel medium to raise awareness about important causes and social issues.
