Indian MasterClass member monami just won her third award in a Japanese manga contest!

monami won the Grand Prix Runner-up for her piece Heartfelt keepsake in SMA21, which was highly evaluated by Horie-san, the former head editor of Weekly Shonen Jump. He praised her piece, saying it was, “a work that manga lovers around the world can enjoy.” 


monami then followed her win in SMA21 by winning the top prize in the 13th Kyushu International Manga Award, Fleeting Light! Fleeting Light followed Kian, a disillusioned paparazzi in need of a spark to start pursuing his own art again. 


Now, with her new piece, Absent, monami has also won a Future Talent Award in the 17th Itten Toppa Award!

The Itten Toppa Award is hosted twice a year, and works anywhere from 5 to 17 pages long are welcome. Itten Toppa literally translates to “one point breakthrough”, and is a prize for creators to show off one, specific strength! You can check out the Itten Toppa contest details (in Japanese only) here. This year, Hajime Musashino, the author of Burning Kabaddi participated as the guest judge! Musashino-sensei had this to say about Absent:

“From the paneling to the composition, the character’s scared expressions and the sense of distrust and anxiety that the main character exuded… this was a well-crafted international horror! I felt my heart race until the end. However, the final reveal was a bit weak, so I think you need to work on polishing your reveals.”  

The main character of Absent, Neel, is a zealous teacher who can’t help but worry about a student that has been absent for several weeks. However, when he visits his student’s house, he gets wrapped up in events beyond his imagination… 

Read on to find out more!

READ Absent IN ENGLISH HERE!

Want to hear more from monami? Check out her social media for more stunning artwork!

Instagram: @monadrawzthings

The deadline to join SMA24 is May 10th. Enter for a chance to develop your potential as a manga creator with us in Japan!