The MangaHelpers Manga Awards Discussion Thread

**destiny4ever** · December 16, 2010 08:37 PM

Welcome to The MangaHelpers Manga Awards, an awards competition where you, the fans, nominate and decide what is the best of the best in the Manga world.

General Rules

The nomination process

Nominations are now closed!

Who will submit the nominations?
The nominations will be submitted by members of the staff and by you, the members of the site. In that way, all the members of the site will come together to decide what is the best of the best.

How to submit a nomination
Submit a nomination for the different award categories by posting in this thread and by explaining why said series/character/event deserves to be a nominee for that award category. The explanation cannot be longer than three lines.

- You don’t have to nominate for all the award categories, but you can only make 1 nomination for each award category.

-Out of all the nominations for the different award categories, only the 5 nominations that earn the most votes become the official nominees.

- To vote for a nomination, the only thing you need to do is to you write a post in this thread indicating your support for said nomination by writing: “I support *inserts the name of the nominee* for the *inserts the name of the award category*

-The nomination process will take place from now until the next two weeks; you can edit your nomination and your vote at any time during that period.

- Once a series/character/event has been nominated, it doesn’t need to be nominated for a second time. If you agree with said nomination, show your support by voting for said nomination.

-Please respect the opinions and nominations of others. It’s okay if you don’t like a series or a character or an event that another person nominates and it’s okay if you don’t agree with said nomination; but please do not bash the character, or the series, or event, or the person who posts the nomination. The purpose of The MangaHelpers Manga Awards is to do something as a whole community while having fun, not to initiate any kind of drama or fights.

-In case an award category doesn’t have enough nominations, the rest of the nominees will come from a panel of experts and members from the staff.

Awards Categories

Quote:

Best Male Lead

Best Male Supporting Character

Best Female Lead

Best Female Supporting Character

Best Shoujo Manga

Best Shounen Manga

Best Josei Manga

Best Seinen Manga

Best Hairstyling

Best Costume Design

Best Villain

Best Fight

Best Kiss

Best Color Page

Best Double-Spread

Best Chapter

Best Couple

Best Full Cast

Best Artwork

Best WTF Moment

Best plot-twist

Best new series

Best Manga Overall

The Voting Process

-After 5 nominees have been selected for each one of the different award categories, the voting process will begin. The voting will be poll-based and separate threads will be created for each one of the different award categories.

-You don’t have to vote for all the award categories, but you can only vote for a category once. So please make sure you are voting for the series/character/event you really want to vote for before clicking on the poll.

-Once you have cast your vote, please feel free to continue the discussion about the nominees and who you think will be the winners of this contest.

-The winners of each award category will be the ones that earn the most votes.

-The voting process will take place from the moment we have enough nominees for the various award categories until the following two weeks. The results of the MangaHelpers Awards will be posted four days after the closing of the voting process.

-If you have any questions about the awards competition, please feel free to contact me or any of the following moderators via PM.

benelori
HegemonKhan
M3J
saladesu

Information about the manga series the nominees of the MH Manga Awards come from:

All credit for the links goes to M3J and naruto-niichan. Thank you very much for you great help guys!

Spoiler: Manga List Link Info show

**ashher** · December 17, 2010 12:16 AM

I go first

...i nominate "Johann Liebert" from Monster as the best villain. He is so good (i mean bad) that he really makes good and bad look irrelevant.

Next i nominate L from Deathnote as the Best Supporting Male. There are many worthy choices in this category...but let us all go for THE L, for sheer cool factor.

**destiny4ever** · December 17, 2010 12:38 AM

Thank you the nominations, ashher!!

I have added them to the opening post.

I haven’t read Monster but I have heard it is an awesome series, and I have a feeling Johann Liebert has a lot to do with Monster being the great manga it is.

I have read Death Note so I can agree that L is a very worthy contestant for the nomination of Best Male Supporting Character. One of the reasons why Light was able to brightly shine (as a character) throughout the series was because of L. L was able to bring out to the max all the things that made Light into the interesting character he is, and being able to do that it is one of the characteristics of an awesome supporting character, IMHO.

**benelori** · December 17, 2010 02:12 AM

Great choice ashher, for both...Johan is an extremely appealing villain, I could say...nice choice

My first entries are for Best villain: Orochimaru...the style, the snake symbol, the character design, and his overall presence in the manga makes him my overall favorite...

Then for Best male supporting character is Inspector Heinrich Runge from Monster...the best thing apart from his incredible intelligence, was that subjective memory process he used, and the gestures that followed it...and he kept me thinking for a long time that Tenma is the villain

Next is Best Male Lead...this was probably my easiest choice, besides Orochimaru, so I nominate Gutts from Berserk...he is just the main driving force of the manga, and his development throughout the story is just brilliant

The next two categories share a single title...Blame! by Nihei Tsutomu for Best Artwork and Best Seinen...the art is one of the most complex and detail oriented arts I've seen in a manga, not to mention the imagination behind it...and it's the only manga that I've read in one go, because for me it was pretty breathtaking

Another title that will share to nominations: Full Metal Alchemist for Best Full Cast...the importance, the relationship between the characters, and the fact that I liked every character are the main reasons...and Ed & Winry for Best Couple...probably as hyped as NaruHina, but in the end it worked out

It's really hard to remember details about all the mangas around...but a very good plot twist was, or the Best Plot-twist for now is

Spoiler show

in Bleach...probably the main reason why the SS arc is considered the best in Bleach til now

Best Shounen: Naruto...I like the characters, I like the universe that has been presented, the fights have great ideas behind them...NR.1

One moment that got me very excited and eager to continue the story was

Moderator message by: HegemonKhan

(see the spoiler below)

...so Best WTF moment goes to

Spoiler show

**yukilove21** · December 17, 2010 04:06 AM

hello

Awesome choices to the both of you XD
Best Male Lead - Allen Walker from D.Gray-man. He is a nice, strong guy who cares for the ones he loves and fights for them and the demons called Akuma.

Best Female Lead - Misaki Ayuzawa from Kaichou Wa Maid Sama. She is... Awesome... She a Student Council President and a Maid. How better can that get?

Best Shoujo Manga - Now here is my calling~! I am caught between three really great ones. But hands down, Fruits Basket. The plot-line, the Characters. Everything. It is probably one of the best manga's created. Well, in my opinion.

Best Shounen Manga - Aaaaa.... Death Note. Hands down! The plot is original, the characters are very smart (and good looking. Just saying.) and I was attracted to the story from the very beginning.

Best Seinen Manga - K-ON. Come on! The characters are awesome. The plot attracts both guys and girls. And I named by guitar after Yui's guitar.

Best Villain - The Millennium Earl from D.Gray-Man. He is freakin' scary!! That smile! It reminds me of Peniwise the Clown from IT... Other than that... He is a pretty cool bad guy.. He is trying to over-throw god, which lets readers wonder why.

Best Fight - Bleach, Ichigo VS Ulquiorra Final battle. I love that fight, I was on the edge of my seat while reading that battle...

Best Kiss - Hehehehehe..... http://www.mangafox.com/manga/kaicho...7/c032/46.html hehehehehe. need I say more?

Best Color Page - http://www.mangafox.com/manga/naruto/v52/c503/2.html this actually is my favorite one ever. It is just so amazing, and I would have loved to see that really happen. Minato's face just makes it better

Best Double-Spread - http://www.mangafox.com/manga/bleach/v47/c420/12.html ... Hehehehe.... An awesome scene. I was like all, "NO WAY!" When I read it. ~~(cause Ichi got even hotter.)~~

Best Couple - Since yoai won't get as much votes as I hope, and I am in love with this couple, Orihime Inoue X Ulquiorra Ciffer from Bleach. So many good moments... Then he has her heart in his hands (Not literally, but still)! EEEE!!! oooo, I am such a fangirl...

Best WTF Moment - *Sigh*....

Spoiler show

... I know that I ma not the only one that went like this: o.O

Best plot-twist -

Spoiler show

Best new series - Enigme by Sakaki Kenji. It is great so far! I love it!! It is one of those series that I just love! It is just... Wonderful! I suggest everyone read it :3

Best Manga Overall - .... Kuroshitsuji by Toboso Yana. It is wonderful. The Art, The plot, The Characters. Every month, I die while I wait for a chapter. Each arc is a joy to read, unlike some manga's, where it gets troublesome, and sometimes contradicts itself.
Even though this manga is a big contradiction itself. It makes it even more interesting.
I would say that it is indeed one of my favorite manga's ever. And I know that their are a lot of fans, lurking...

Hehehe...

**Organizized** · December 17, 2010 04:08 AM

Because someone has to say it...

Best Shounen: One Piece. The characters are priceless, the humor beats most series, the fights are intense and inventive and at many points it will even make you teary-eyed, all while maintaining an adventurous and heartfelt feeling. Not to mention the universe that has been built up throughout the series and the way Oda ties everything together so perfectly will make your jaw drop over and over again.

One Piece: It's an epic story as it is told best, mixing humor with intense action and emotional moments, taking us on a though-out and downright awesome adventure, and making us love every minute of it.

**HegemonKhan** · December 17, 2010 04:45 AM

My Manga Nominations:

Best Villain in a Manga:

Priscilla in Claymore. She's more "Aizen" then Aizen is in Bleach, she's so wickedly cruelly evil, and she so is "Kefka's* twin sister"! "Pissy Prissy Priscilla the Psychotic Princess of Power". Priscilla the "Dark Fairy". But, she's no physically weak D&D fairy class. Oh, and she's hawt

*Kefka is the villain in (Final Fantasy 3 U.S. = Final Fantasy 6 Jap) game. He was (and maybe still is) the top ~1-3 villain for a long time in many gaming polls. So, a.k.a. crazy, psycho, insane, madness, and etc.

Best Manga Overall:

Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, FTW! If you like Berserk, you'll love Claymore. It's a masterpiece of literature. It's extremely deep, sophisticated, complex, and complicated. Everytime you read it, you learn something new. It's very fast paced. If you want a "kiddie", cliche, and "happily ever after" manga, then Claymore is not for you!

Best Kiss in a Manga:

Clare kissing Raki in Claymore. Clare slowly holds his head in her hands, leans forward just as slowly, lips parted and eyes dreamily barely open, Raki's eyes dilate, he gulps, his heart pounds, Clare's luscious lips plant against his lips, and stay lingeringly locked and pressed together, she pulls away but keeps looking at him with intense but so soft and loving big beautiful silver eyes of hers. It was love then and forever! But, Yagi is so cruel ....

Best Plot Twist in a Manga:

Spoiler show

Best Male Supporting Character in a Manga:

Haji from Blood+ manga. Saya's faithful "servant/slave and lover" uber powerful chevalier. He's always there for her, in his stoic obeident usual silence. Her guardian angel always watching over her. At first he didn't like her as he was her slave and she was selfish and rude. But, that quickly changed, and he has loved her ever since, always being there for her, when she needs him the most. As a protector or just a chest to cry into and arms to hug her as she sobs her tears away.

~~Roy Revant from Solty Rei. ...~~

(they both are considered as Lead characters, so that's why they're scratched out)

Best Female Lead in a Manga:

Clare/Claire in Claymore. Clare is extremely complicated and complex, yet so simple too at the same time. Clare has got quite a life story that'll cause you to fall in love with her, as you follow her on her "journey" and slowly learn about her and then more and more about her! Oh, you so will fall so deeply in love with her! *Grins*

Best Female Supporting Character in a Manga:

*Dorothy Catalonia from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing*

Dorothy R. Wayneright in Big O. Roger Smith is first introduced to her as part of his job as a contractor. But, this android, will constantly come to his rescue and help him. They'll also fall in love with each other, and have really great and witty dialogue between them. Dorothy R. Wayneright: "You're such a louse, Roger Smith." (Dorothy R. Wayneright from Big O, is considered a Lead character, so that's why she's scratched out)

Best Male Lead in a Manga:

Alucard in Hellsing. If you know Hellsing, Alucard needs no explanation as to why he's the Best Male Lead

Best Couple in a Manga:

Kraft Lawrence <3 Holo the Wise Wolf in Spice and Wolf. Holo is such a dominant alpha female smirking and extremely witty tease towards Kraft, but he's also a tease back in his own way. Their interactions and dialogue between each other is so witty and awesome! And Holo gets so jealous and competitive towards other females!

Best Full Cast in a Manga:

Claymore. There's so many significant characters who get a huge role/part in Claymore and you get to know them all so well and deeply! The character development and relationship intimacy with them in Claymore will simply leave you breathless! You won't believe how well you get to know these characters of Claymore!

Best Fight in a Manga:

Clare vs Rigardo (the entire fight between them) in Claymore. Claymore readers/fans will fully understand this. It's truly an epic fight! I don't want to spoil it for those who don't know yet, hehe. Let's just say you see Clare's nightmarish "dark side". And to quote Rigardo himself right before he's killed by Clare: "Superb!"

Best Artwork in a Manga:

Claymore. Yagi is both the author and artist of Claymore! The artwork is different, as it is uniquely his, but oh is it breathtaking! The scenery is gorgeous and the battles are fabulously drawn! But most of all, the characters themselves. HK covers his heart with his hands: Galatea, Flora, Teresa, Alicia+Beth twins, Priscilla, Luciela, Irene, Ophelia, Clare, Clarice, Audrey, Yuma, Anastasia, and etc, and gasps huskily: B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L-!

Best Costume Design:

Claymore. The clothing in Claymore is awesome! From the standard Claymore uniforms to Irene's unique outfit to Alicia+Beth's unique black uniforms to the Ghosts' outfits to the Black Coats outfits to Priscilla's unique clothing to the jaw-droppingly gorgeous ruffled dress of Luciela, but most of all, dun dun dun dun dun ...
having the "Top Supermodel of the Goddesses" Galatea fighting in that nun outfit of hers! WOLF WHISTLES!

**ashher** · December 17, 2010 05:36 AM

Well let me be the 1st to vote someone else's nomination as well

. So i hereby solemnly pledge my support to FMA for 'best cast'..great choice Ben.

Now i my 2nd vote goes to Blame! for artwork.(another fabulous choice from Ben). No one will ever believe that the artwork in a goddam manga can be this good. Insane details, unbelievably expressive art(many pages don't even have a single dialogue), such intricate designing of his post-apocalyptic world, vast and suffocating at the same time that makes you feel the claustrophobic silence. Anatomy at times feel strange...but soon one realizes that it was intentional. Never seen a manga rely on art this much.

It makes me really sad to think that despite all the great mangas out there, One Piece is gonna end up taking the cake of the best Manga. Its not even the best shonen,a award that is even more certain to go in favor of OP. Even naruto is better than that, and with the manga like FMA and Deathnote out there...its gonna be just another proof that democracy is often does up choosing quantity over quaility.

**Fomano** · December 17, 2010 05:47 AM

Best Male Lead - Yoshina Ageha. His inner conflict of doing the right thing as a good guy or doing the right thing as a bad guy to definitely solve the problems was really one of the best things in Psyren. His power were pretty amazing and showed his conflict.

Best Female Lead - Claire, Claymore.

Best Shoujo Manga -

Best Shounen Manga - Psyren. Great art, characters, plot and especially the emotional development of the protagonist Yoshina Ageha.

Best Seinen Manga - Vagabond. Takehiko always make good stuff, but in Vagabond he is perfect. Great story, Exceptional art, Exceptional Protagonist and many other things that I can't put in 3 lines.

Best Villain - Aizen. One of the most evil guys in any media. He is as merciless as Darth Vader and as cinical and manipulator as Hannibal Lecter. Any villain that share something bad in common with those two deserves the top.

Best Fight - Miyamoto Musashi (Shinmen Takezo) vs Yoshioka School. A lesson of how to kick 50 asses alone. Vagabond.

Best Kiss - Claire kissing Raki, Claymore.

Best Color Page - http://www.mangafox.com/manga/naruto/v52/c503/2.html
I have even cried thinking of Naruto being orphan with parents so cool.

Best Double-Spread - http://www.mangafox.com/manga/bleach/v47/c420/12.html
Can't even explain how fantastic was the transformation

Best Couple - Yoshina Ageha and Amamiya Sakurako from Psyren

Best WTF Moment - http://www.mangareader.net/103-57801...apter-598.html

Spoiler show

Best plot-twist -

Spoiler show

Best new series - Enigme by Sakaki Kenji. It reminds me a little of Psyren. So far the mistery is the best thing about Enigme.

Best Manga Overall - Psyren by Toshiaki Iwashiro. Great art, characters, plot and especially the emotional development of the protagonist Yoshina Ageha.

**Shinsatsu** · December 17, 2010 06:47 AM

Here I go:

Best Male Lead: Miyamoto Musashi from Vagabond.
This character showed a dramatic change during the progress of the story. His philosophical view of the world along with his monologs make him a great lead male character.

Best Male Supporting Character: I support ashher for the nominee "L" from Death note.

Best Female Lead: Clair from Claymore.
She has quite the story. She's a great fighter and even if she's weak she still struggles to reach her goals. I would like her to be the winner of the best female lead.

Best Shounen Manga: One Piece.
No one hates one piece. That's the best aspect of this manga. The writer has a great imagination and makes the stupidest idea look awesome when he uses it in the story. I really don't see any shounen manga that can beat One Piece here. (I am actually a naruto fan. But when it comes to nominations, one has to be honest).

Best Seinen Manga: Berserk.
I'm sorry but there is no manga in the universe that can make me change my mind here. There are surely alot of good seinen series out there ut Berserk is something else. The art, The story, the action, the violence, the emotions... everything is maxed out in this masterpiece.

Best Hairstyling: Bleach.
When it comes to hairstyles, Bleach has alot of different hairstyles and they all look awesome combined with the artist skill in drawing human faces.

Best Villain: I support Ben for Orochimaru from Naruto.

Best Fight: Sandaime VS Orochimaru from Naruto - part1
This fight was amazing in all aspects. It was the first fight to the death in Naruto series. Greed and Desire vs Sacrifice and victory.

Best Artwork: Berserk.
No need to explain, just go take a look at the latest Berserk chapter

no need to point a certain chapter ... they are all masterpieces!

Best Manga Overall: Berserk.
The almighty mangaka and his masterpiece. The story that you can read so many times without getting tired of it, the characters that have unique traits and superb design. The art that no one can beat, and the long life this manga has! Just imagine your nominee in 10 years from now

no one will like it then. But look at Berserk, it survived 20 years and still kicking! and even if I age to 60, my opinion wont change

This is it for now, I may add/edit things later.
Shin.

**Organizized** · December 17, 2010 08:12 AM

Best Male Lead: I second Shinsatsu’s nomination of Miyamoto Musashi from Vagabond.

Moderator message by: HegemonKhan

he changed his nomination of Best Male Lead to Vash the Stampede from Trigun, so that's why it's scratched out above

Best Male Supporting Character: While I do feel like I should second the nomination of L in this category, for the sake of competition I’ll nominate Niizuma Eiji from Bakuman.

When he first appeared, Eiji looked to be a future villain. From the start, he was introduced as a threat to the protagonists, being a ”young genius mangaka” just like them. As the series progresses, though, he turns out to be a really likable, if somewhat ”special”, kid. He does remain the main rival of our heroes, but a respectable and lovable one. He’s competitive and hell-bent on staying #1, but still cares for his competitors and wants to see them perform as well as they possibly can. Most of the time, though, he’s just a quirky and hilarious character, and a perfect fit for this category.

Best Artwork: Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura. Now, if you haven't read this series, don't use the early chapters for reference. The art had some serious upgrading when the series moved from a weekly to a monthly magazine. And maaaan, did it upgrade. The detail Yukimura puts into each and every panel is just amazing. I don't know what else to say except go check it out for yourself. You won't regret it.

**zura113** · December 17, 2010 08:40 AM

Hello!!

Okay my entries
Best villain - Takasugi Shinsuke from Gintama, because as far as I've seen and read, he is cunning, personality fits to be a villain (mysterious etc etc), he would do anything to reach his goals and his appearance is (Y)

Best Shoujo manga - Hana Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e). Well it's quite old but to alot of those who've read Hana Kimi out there, its their all time favorite, mine too. I read quite alot of shoujo mangas, and Hana Kimi is the best when taking the art style into account, the story, the developing romance between the characters.

Best Seinen manga is DOGS Bullets and Carnage because the plot is amazing and original. Not to mention, the characters are unique. Naoto and Haine to be specific. The way the story goes on, the characters' roles and involvment in the plot is (Y)

Best Shonen manga - In my opinion, its Fullmetal Alchemist. by Arakawa Hiromu Epic, and the most original plot I've ever come across. Characters involvement is great, art style is simple and quite attractive.

Best Male Lead- Sakata Gintoki from Gintama. His personality is what I find attractive. Laid back most of the time, cares deeply for those close to him, great sense of humor etc. Character design is great too, quite unique. I haven't really seen many characters with silver hair, permed

.

Best Male Supporting character - Kanda Yuu from D.Gray Man. His character design, quite simple yet great

Background story is quite touching too, and his personality, lovely.

Best Female Lead - Yato Kagura from Gintama. Really, she has a unique personality. Though she can be selfish, that's one thing that is attractive, along with her attitude, caring for those close to her etc. Her strength, physical, is unique too. Fighting with an umbrella. Superhuman strength and speed. Oh and her sense of humor

Best Full Cast - Fullmetal Alchemist cast, in my opinion. All characters, personality wise and design wise, unique and amazing. The character involvment in the plot, and the relationships between characters is brilliant

Best manga overall - Kuroshitsuji by Yana Toboso. It's just wonderful. Amazing. The plot, art, characters and the setting, fantastic

. I just get thrilled when waiting for a month after each chapter, and every arc is very interesting.

That's all I have to say right now. To be honest there are several other equally amazing choices in my mind and it was really hard to choose.
I might edit later.

May the best ones win.

**Ustegius** · December 17, 2010 09:15 AM

No genre categories? I mean like sports/comedy/drama. Not to every little thing thing like neopunk, but those big three atleast.

Okay, here we go.

Best Male Lead - I nominate Kenji Endo from 20th/21st Century Boys. He is so easy to relate to, he is just like one of us. As a boy he wanted to save the world, as a teen he wanted to be a rock star and as a adult he is a manager of a franchise minimart. However, when forced to corner, he slowly yet steadily grows into a rockin' hero, only one with the strenght and support to deny villanous Friend.

Best Male Supporting Character - As much as I like Runge and L, I still nominate Wolfgang Grimmer from Monster. The man is so caring, despite his own claim that he has no feelings. Sub-conciously denies them due to childhood trauma. But perfectly feelingless person wouldn't be so nice, righteous and heroic.

Best Female Lead - I nominate Gally from GUNNM(aka. Battle Angel Alita)/GUNNM: The Last Order. Professor Ito saves the head of a beatifull female cyborg from the trash heaps. His dream was to just make her beautifull and live happily, but the stubborn lady drifts into the world of fighting and killing, muchly lead by her unknown past she has herself forgotten. The cyborgs growth as a person is splendidly told and very heart touching, and as bonus she kicks some bad guy ass pretty damn effectivly.

Best Shounen Manga - I support One Piece, but I'd like to see someone nominate HxH or FMA. Oda has done a splendid job on building a universe
and characters that just yell "Adventure!" out loud. Also very special case in Jump, as time to time you jaw drop as you notice, that he has had this moment/character done in his mind since the beginning.

Best Seinen Manga - I nominate Naoki Urasawa's Monster. The way the athmosphere builds up in this mystery is just astonishing. The web of mystery and how its slow unveiling changes the characters during their journey is spectacular. The grande finale made me shiver like crazy, and all of it is done without need to rely on supernatural plot devices. In theory, this could have really happened.

Best Villain - I support Johan Liebert from Monster. The name of the manga sound silly at first, but as the reader gets to know who is Johan, and how he became the person he is, the title makes undeniable sense. The most frightening monsters don't have jaws, claws or several limps.

Best Fight - I nominate Thorkkell's duel with Thorrfinn in Vinland Saga. It was just so awesome.

Best Couple - I nominate Rock and Revy from Black Lagoon. The japanese salaryman and crazy violent mercenary lady just have some amazing chemistry, which is on of the things which makes this series so entertaining.

Best Full Cast - I support Fullmetal Alchemist here. Not only does it have plenty of amazing characters, but well built social networks and reletions between them.

Best Artwork - I'm between Vinland Saga and Vagabond here. I'll decide later.

Best WTF Moment -

Spoiler show

Totally WTF?!?! and funny as hell also.

Best new series - What counts as new? I'd like to nominate Beelzebub, but it has been running a while for now.

Best Manga Overall - The best overall manga must be something that surpasses genre and age. This is why I nominate Yotsuba&! A slice of life series, that never fails to make the reader smile. The realistic daily 'adventures' of an eccentric little girl and his family and friends are fit to reader of any age. If you do not enjoy this, your heart must be made of ice.

**Roflkopt3r** · December 17, 2010 09:16 AM

Nominations:
Best Male Lead: Gatsu of Berserk (by Kentaro Miura). He is totally badass to the amount of beeing the possibly coolest character ever and has several -not too simple!- character changes over the story.
Best Male Support Character: Gauche Suede of Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) by Hiroyuki Asada. He doesn't actually appear very often, although he is a most central character. He has a great optical design, great dreams, a sad fate and a good heart.

Best Female Lead: Seras Victora of Hellsing. An awesome fate, great optical design and a lovely character finding her way in a mad world.
Best Female Support Character: Fee of Planetes (by Makoto Yukimura). Seemingly beeing a serious, disciplinary character in the beginning, she shows other sides later; finding and enjoying beatiful moments of life (often revolving about her desired cigarettes) and, finally after questioning the constraints of adult life, gaining back the freedom of childhood and starting a rebellion against the system.

Best Shounen Manga: Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) by Hiroyuki Asada. It's a really fantastic scenario with great artworks and cool characters and visual design. It's a little off the Shounen mainstream in regards of the design of the universe, storyline and atmosphere, making it more unique than many other Shounen.
Best Seinen Manga: Berserk (supporting Shinsatsu) by Kentaro Miura. It really uses the possibilities of Seinen very well, without overdoing them. For a monthly released Manga, it's very old already and still exeptionally good.

Best Costume Design: Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) by Hiroyuki Asada. The winter clothes in general and Bee uniforms in specific look awesome and stylish.

Best Villain: "Nosferatu" Zodd of Berserk (by Kentaro Miura). A most impressive barbarian, his forearms are massive as a cannon barrel. His face, clothes and arms are most crude and archaic even for a medieval scenario. He's a relentless fighter and maybe the most powerful demon of Berserk. He's an absolutely wild beast.

Best Fight: Thorkell vs. Thorfinn (supporting Ustegius). Including Thorkell's famous demonstration of power and the "where is Thorfinn?"-Scene. (page reading direction is from left to right, panel direction from right to left on these images)
Best Kiss: Gatsu and Caska (Berserk)

Best Double Spread: Berserk Vol. 8 Page 190 - Gatsu vs Griffith

Best Couple: Hachimiki and Tanabe of Planetes (by Makoto Yukimura). Coming together suddenly and unexpected, they're a romantic, young and playful couple with big hopes and dreams nonetheless. In all of this, I think that the way they came together was extraordinarily low on cliche and pathos, which often weaken love stories. Also, it's neither too much nor too less emotional.

Best plot-twist: The Eclipse in Berserk (by Kentaro Miura).

Spoiler: The Eclipse show

In a moment of madness, the previously tortured and crippled (his muscles are degenerated, his tendons and tongue cut) Griffith pushes the horses of the carriage he's been lying on after beeing rescued, and falls into a river. His friends of his mercenary troup follow to save him. In the river he finds a long lost trinket, which has been "waiting" for this moment, and summons a living hell of demons. The four almost allmighty "God Hand" appear on top of this and declare Griffith to be the long awaited fifth God Hand. He is beeing transformed into one of them, while his old comrades and friends are beeing slaugthered by the demons as a sacrifice for Griffith's rebirth. Griffith accepts this, because he already accepted that sacrifices were necessary to accomplish his dreams and aims of an own kingdom.

Gatsu, who is the strongest fighter amongst the mercenary and Griffith's closest friend, enters a berserk rage when he sees his friends beeing slaugthered and Griffith taken by the demons and slays dozens of demons. Apart from him, only his girlfriend Caska -who was unable to decide between her love for Gatsu and Griffith- survives, because another mercenary gives his life to safe her for a moment.

When Griffith is fully transformed and now is a powerful beeing, the demons capture Gatsu and Caska and Griffith rapes the woman in front of Gatsu's eyes, who, still raging, slashes on the demon holding his arm until his sword breaks, and then cuts off his own arm with the broken sword, only to be captured again and loosing an eye.

Both Gatsu and Caska survive, but Caska loses her mind after the events. The overall twist:
-Before: Griffith is stripped of all his previous power, glory and ambitions, while Gatsu and Caska finally thought to have found their places in life and within the mercenary troups, who follow them and feel ready for a new life.
-After: Griffith is a godlike beeing, Gatsu lost everything of value to him, Caska effectively doesn't exist anymore, the mercenary army is dead; The story has a full reset.

Best WTF-Moment: Thorkell and Willibald - "Whichever created Liquor" (Vinland Saga)

Best Manga Overall: Berserk (supporting Shinsatsu) by Kentaro Miura. Stunning arts, great characters, an epic but unpredictable story and using the possibilities of Seinen Genre over Shounen to their best.

**Kubukurin** · December 17, 2010 09:51 AM

Best Josei: Kuragehime, is just too funny and hilarius.

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