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August 1, 2025, Tokyo - Celsys today announces the winning entries of the fifth Global Comic Awards held in cooperation with Mangadraft, an online platform for independent comics and manga in France and Belgium, on the theme of “First Love”. The MANGA/COMIC Grand Jury Prize goes to “DANIEL” by ElieVigneron, a charming and heartfelt sci-fi story set in Paris, and the WEBTOON Grand Jury Prize goes to “When I Found Love on Those Rainy Days” by Magalhães Belmiro, a classic romance story with beautiful colors and lovable characters.
Open for entries from April 24 to June 29, 2025, this iteration of the contest received 652 comic entries in many genres and styles. The Global Comic Awards aims to encourage artists to present their creations, connecting winning artists with sponsor companies from the comic industry such as JumpTOON, KADOKAWA, TATESC COMICS, and more. In addition to connections with sponsor media and a Clip Studio Paint EX activation code, the MANGA/COMIC Grand Jury Prize and WEBTOON Grand Jury Prize receive US$2,200 in prize money. Cash prizes are also given for the Jury's Favorite Prize and the Public Prize winners, along with 5 Honorable Mentions.
Celsys will continue to collaborate with leading enterprises in comic culture both in Japan and across the globe, to support young creators in their goal of becoming professional comic artists.
Please see the announcement site on Mangadraft to read the winning entries in full.
Mangadraft x Clip Studio Paint Global Comics Awards Winning Entries
https://en.mangadraft.com/contests/global-comic-awards-2025.en
■ Winning Entries
MANGA/COMIC Grand Jury Prize
Artist: ElieVigneron
Title: DANIEL
URL: https://www.mangadraft.com/bd/daniel
Judge comment (Frédéric TOUTLEMONDE): Starting from the simple premise of a chance encounter—a love at first sight—the author manages to develop a moving and original story, framed in a well-executed sci-fi context. The familiar geographic backdrop (Paris, the Louvre) adds resonance, while the inclusion of relevant secondary themes—declining birthrates, adoption, the search for one’s roots—adds depth.
WEBTOON Grand Jury Prize
Artist: Magalhães Belmiro
Title: When I Found Love on Those Rainy Days
URL: https://www.mangadraft.com/webtoon/when-i-found-love-on-those-rainy-days
Judge comment (Anne-Lise Nalin): While reading this story, I thought without a doubt—this is the clear winner in the webtoon category! It’s flawless and a true favorite of mine. The story is tender and charming, the art style is captivating, the colors are enviable, the layout is exquisite, and the characters are simply lovable. Weakness? It’s too good! I reached the final panel wanting more. My heartfelt congratulations to Belmiro!
Jury's Favorite Prize
Artist: DenizGulmez
Title: Kleo & Szes
URL: https://www.mangadraft.com/comics/kleo-szes
Public Prize
Artist: Dje-One
Title: Pire que la guerre
URL: https://www.mangadraft.com/manga/pire-que-la-guerre
■ Guest Judges
Anne-Lise NALIN
Born in Marseilles in 1992, it was at the age of 16 that she left high school and opened her comic blog. This enabled her to share her work and take part in comic strip competitions and collectives, and she entered the world of publishing and began her career as an illustrator.
She works on novels, for the press and on children's series for several publishing houses (Bayard, Milan, Rageot, Syros, Dupuis, Nathan...); she also works as a comic strip author, publishing “Journal d'un enfant de lune” with éditions Kennes and “Le Cœur en Braille” with éditions Dargaud.
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/annelisenalin/
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@annelisenalin
Frédéric TOUTLEMONDE
Born in France in 1978, Frédéric has lived in Tokyo since 2003. With an extensive background in manga publishing, his experience includes roles such as manager of the Japanese publishing house Euromanga, a freelance editor for the Japanese magazine Tezucomi, and European representative for Tezuka Productions.
He is also Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Tokyo International Comic Festival.
Website:
https://toutlemondeprod.com/
■ Supporting Media
JumpTOON, KADOKAWA, TATESC COMICS, monthly comic magazine Comic Garden, MAGCOMI, COMIC OGYAAA!!, RED SEVEN Editorial Department, Mangatari Co., Ltd, Weekly Shonen Sunday, Sunday Webry, en-dolphin Corp., C'moA Comics, Digital Margaret, EARTH STAR COMICS, Kana, Glénat Manga, Ki-oon, Star Comics, Tacotoon, Planeta Cómic, Norma Editorial, Tonarino Young Jump, Kodansha Worldwide Planning and Editorial Team
■Organizers
Clip Studio Paint by CELSYS, Inc.
https://www.clipstudio.net/en/
About Clip Studio Paint
Used by over 50 million people worldwide, Clip Studio Paint is a creative app for the production of illustrations, comics, webtoons, and animations. The app is available on Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, and Android, so creators can use it on whatever device they own. Known for its natural drawing feel and plentiful features, Clip Studio Paint is supported by illustrators, comic artists, and animators, and used by beginners and industry professionals alike.
* Includes free trial users and downloads of the iPad, iPhone, Galaxy, Android, and Chromebook versions.
Mangadraft
https://www.mangadraft.com/
About Mangadraft
Mangadraft is a digital publishing platform where creators can post their comics and manga. It hosts more than 12,000 comics primarily by French and Belgian creators, which can be read for free. Mangadraft also provides services to support creators.
Mangadraft website:
https://www.mangadraft.com/
Mangadraft X account:
https://x.com/Mangadraft
Mangadraft Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/mangadraft/
About CELSYS, Inc.
Celsys provides tools such as Clip Studio Paint to support creators in the creator economy that is expanding through the creation and use of digital content. We are also providing new service platforms that act as a new avenue for creators' activities. We look toward a more vibrant world where everyone's passions are connected, by offering total support to creators around the world through each part of their “creator journey".
https://www.celsys.com/en/
For media inquiries
Celsys Media Relations press@celsys.com
