Author Thuy Linh's short story "On the Edge" won second place at the international manga drawing contest Silent Manga Audition (SMA).

Two other Vietnamese authors also won consolation prizes. The list of award-winning works was posted on the contest website on February 29.

Author Thuy Linh.

The SILENT MANGA AUDITION® (SMA), orchestrated by Coamix Inc., a prominent manga publisher headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a manga audition exclusively for manga without dialogue. This way, creators of all ages from across the world can break through language barriers and share their love of manga.

SMA entrants not only have the chance to receive cash prizes but also the chance to work towards their manga debut in Japan.

In its 20th year, its theme was “Memorable Smile” and we received a record number of 909 entries from 84 countries, making it the round with the largest number of entries since the establishment of the audition.

In On the Edge, Thuy Linh, whose pen name is Syoera, tells the story of a stray cat who is helped by a kind girl. The story's pages both show sympathy and are interwoven with humorous elements.

A page from the story "On the Edge". Photo: SMA

Nobuhiko Horie, former editor-in-chief of two major comic magazines in Japan, Weekly Shonen Jump and Weekly Comic Bunch, said that he laughed when he saw the expression on the cat’s face in the last part. In that sense, it is the most manga-like work because of the effective “punch” at the end. The realistic and careful depiction of the interaction between the cat and the girl from the first half of the story makes the reader laugh when the last development exceeds the reader’s expectations. He would have liked to see the characters depicted in the play in a “smile-inducing moment,” but there is no doubt that this is a work that will make readers laugh.

With the second prize in the contest, Thuy Linh will receive a cash prize of JPY 300,000 (about VND 50 million), many painting tools from sponsors, and the opportunity to participate in a master class by leading artists and experts in the comics industry in Japan. In addition, the winning work was introduced in the Monthly Comic ZENON and the comic reading app Mangahot.

Before Silent Manga Audition, Thuy Linh was known as a member of the author group of the historical series Van Nhan Ky - Noan released in 2023.

Besides Thuy Linh, two other Vietnamese authors won consolation prizes including Lamv with the work 'Familiar' and Boredgaylord with 'Our Beginning - Our Farewell.'

SMA20 produced many remarkable prize-winning works, including the GRAND PRIX recipient, Plushelisa from France. For this reason, the organizers decided to exclusively introduce the GRAND PRIX and GRAND PRIX RUNNER-UPs to the readers of the “Monthly Comic ZENON” and have them printed in the April issue.

The judges were overall very impressed by the high quality of the entries, said Shuichi “Mocchi” Mochida, Board Member, COAMIX Inc.; CEO, Kumamoto COAMIX Inc.; and Chief Editor, SILENT MANGA AUDITION® Committee.

SILENT MANGA AUDITION® strives to be the greatest opportunity for manga creators, aspiring to debut in Japan. This includes SMA MasterClass who are working hard here at the Artists Village Aso 096k in Kumamoto, Japan, and continue to produce published works.

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