The award ceremony for the "Cartoon Grand Prize 2024," where manga enthusiasts and booksellers from various fields select "the most interesting manga right now," was held in Tokyo on the 2nd, and "kimi to uchuu wo aruku tame ni" (Author: Doronota Inuhiko) has been chosen as the grand prize winner.

"kimi to uchuu wo aruku tame ni," currently serialized on the web manga site "&Sofa," is a friendship story about Kobayashi, a dropout-like delinquent who can't stick with studying or part-time jobs, and Uno, the class oddball. They meet and struggle but also have fun living their lives despite both having trouble with doing "ordinary things."

Winning the Cartoon Grand Prize with his first serialized work, Mr. Doronota appeared at the award ceremony and said, "I never imagined so many people would read it when the first chapter was released in June last year. I never thought I would receive such an award. Honestly, I'm overwhelmed and it doesn't feel real."

Regarding the origin of the work, he explained, "The setting wasn't about a child like Uno getting involved in a major incident or solving problems because he has some special talent. I just wanted to read stories about everyday life like Uno's. That's why I started drawing, wanting to depict Kobayashi's feelings, thinking, 'Can I combine these two into one story?'"

About the protagonists' backstory, he shared, "There is a clear model for Uno, whom I love very much. Kobayashi appears flashy at first glance, big in stature, and doesn’t look like he has troubles in life when you pass him on the street. I was like Kobayashi during my school days; I had my worries, but a teacher once said to me, 'You don't seem to have any worries,' which was shocking. That stayed with me into adulthood, so I drew Kobayashi."

He also smiled wryly about his impactful pen name, "Doronota Inuhiko," saying, "When I posted the first chapter, the editor-in-chief asked me, 'Are you sure you want to keep that? Isn't it a bit negative with 'mud' in it?'"

He continued, "There was a time when I couldn't draw manga, and I felt embarrassed by the cool-sounding name (pen name) I had chosen for myself. I felt like a dog writhing in mud while drawing manga, so I chose that image as my pen name."

The "Cartoon Grand Prize" was established in 2008 and this year marks its 17th edition. The award targets newly published manga volumes between January 1st and December 31st, 2023, with a maximum of eight volumes. In the first round of selection, jury members nominated up to five works they would highly recommend, leading to the nomination of the top 10 works (including ties).

This year, 101 jurors cast votes for 257 works in January, and 10 works were nominated. In the second round, jurors read all nominated works, conducted a second round of voting, and selected the first, second, and third places, ultimately choosing one work as the "Cartoon Grand Prize" winner based on a point system.

Previous winners and nominees of the award have been adapted into anime, dramas, and movies. The first award in 2008, "Gaku" (Shinichi Ishizuka, Shogakukan), was made into a movie starring Shun Oguri, and the third award, "Thermae Romae" (Mari Yamazaki), was adapted into a movie starring Hiroshi Abe. Additionally, the 2012 winner "Silver Spoon" (Hiromu Arakawa) was turned into an anime in Fuji TV's Noitamina block and a live-action movie starring Kento Nakajima of Sexy Zone. The 2017 winner, "Hibiki: How to Become a Novelist" (Mitsuharu Yanamoto), was adapted into a movie starring Yurina Hirate.