Kawjia, who was an Excellence Award Runner-up in SMA19 with his piece Ballons, has now won the top award in the 12th Kyushu International Manga Award! 

Kawjia’s 39-page one-shot, Zombie Knight stunned the judges, snagged the top prize, and was published in its entirety in the February edition of Monthly Comic Zenon!

In Zombie Knight, a mysterious ritual reawakens a young, fallen knight. When his eyes open again, he’s completely alone, but has supernatural strength and speed. Despite his best efforts, rumors of a monster spread amongst the locals, and he becomes entangled in human conflict. However, he finds an unlikely ally in a blind girl spurned by the other villagers. To find out what happens next, read Zombie Knight, now available in English on the SMA website! 

READ Zombie Knight IN ENGLISH HERE!

To commemorate Kawjia’s award, a Q&A article was printed in the magazine along with his award-winning work. 

Check out the full interview below to read more about Kawjia’s process and the origin of his prize-winning manga! 

How do you feel about winning this award?

I’m very honored to have received this award! It was exciting to know my manga would be printed in a magazine. I want as many people as possible to read this story!

How did you think of the idea for this piece? 

I really like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The idea of a person being treated as a monster from the time they were born was interesting to me, and served as a starting point for the story. I also enjoy drawing knights and armor, so I wanted to incorporate them into the setting. Then I thought, ‘maybe a knight that got turned into a monster would actually enjoy it for a while, because you don’t have any duties, you’re really strong, and you can eat whatever you want!’ That’s how it started, and the ending was a natural progression from there.

What do you think is the best part of this piece? 

I liked the part where Zombie Boy leaves Anika, then falls to the ground and faints. I think you can only have a good climax if you have enough conflict leading up to it. It was actually my editor’s idea to have more conflict between the characters, and it really helped the story!

What did you struggle with when creating this piece? 

Keeping the story within 39 pages was tough. I probably had to rewrite the ending 5 or 6 times before it flowed correctly. The drawing was also quite difficult. Coming up with the right solution for each panel was terribly fun, but also quite challenging… Now that I have more time after finishing this manga, I want to practice drawing more!

Was there anything you kept in mind while creating these characters? 

I had to remind myself to make sure every character changed by the end of the story, except for the antagonist. If they’ve changed, it means they’ve learned something! For Zombie Boy in particular, he had to find his identity as a knight, which he’d lost when he became a zombie.

What manga do you like? 

I’ve been re-reading Honey and Clover by Umino Chica. It might be because the story is about art students, and I’m an art student myself, but I feel like I can see me and my friends in all of the characters in that story. Umino Chica writes their experiences and struggles in a way that’s so poetic yet relatable, and every chapter makes me feel more connected to the world.

What kind of manga do you want to draw next?

I want to draw a manga that takes place in a desolate, harsh world, and see what kind of characters come out of a place like that!

What is your latest obsession? (It can be something other than manga!)

I started listening to Eminem recently, and his music makes me want to punch a hole in the wall. Somehow I can’t stop listening to it, though.

Do you have any final comments for the readers? 

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this manga. Please enjoy!

Do you want to be published in Japan, too? The next SMA announcement is coming soon, so stay tuned!