The French critics association ACBD awarded Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tokyo These Days the 2025 Asia Critics Prize on July 4 at Paris Japan Expo. The annual award honors outstanding works from Asia translated into French.
French edition of Toyko These DaysThe Association of Comics Critics and Journalists (ACBD) praised Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tokyo These Days [translated via DeepL], saying:
“Matsumoto celebrates the beauty of ordinary moments, questions the place of creation, and pays tribute to the behind-the-scenes craftsmen who keep manga alive. A touching and profoundly human work, which we consider one of the artistic peaks of this outstanding artist.”
This three-volume seinen series, which explores the world of manga, first ran in Big Comic Original Zōkan (Shogakukan) between 2019 and 2023 and was later collected in three volumes. VIZ released the English-language edition last year, while the French edition, published by Kana, wrapped up this March with the final volume titled Tokyo, ces jours-ci.
France has long stood as the largest manga market outside Japan, with growing interest in Asian works. That makes the ACBD shortlist particularly noteworthy. Other finalists included:
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Les Guerres invisibles (On Their Frontlines) by American-born, Japan-based queer artist Marina Lisa Komiya, which explores the lives of Japanese war brides after WWII;
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The Song About Green by Taiwanese artist Gao Yan, a tender story of two young lovers bonding over their shared admiration for Japanese culture;
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Losers by Kôji Yoshimoto, which revisits the little-known history of one of Japan’s first adult manga magazines, Weekly Manga Action;
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and Les Nations du Soleil sanglant (Nations of the Bloodied Sun) by Ikka Matsuki, a dystopian epic that follows a man trying to reunite a fractured, post-apocalyptic Japan.
As of now, none of these shortlisted works are available in English.
Running since 2007, the ACBD Asia Critics Prize (Prix Asie de la Critique ACBD) honors standout works from South and East Asia translated into French between July of the previous year and June of the current one. ACBD announces the winner each year at Paris’s Japan Expo. Tokyo These Days, the 19th recipient of the award, succeeds last year’s winner, Akio Tanaka’s River End Café.
Japan Expo 2025 runs July 3–6 and features guests such as horror master Junji Ito, Solo Leveling’s Redice Studio artist Disciples, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX director Kazuya Tsurumaki, Air Gear creator Oh!Great, and Dragon Ball Super artist (and presumed Akira Toriyama successor), Toyotaro.
ACBD Asia Critics Prize 2025 Shortlist
(Prix Asie de la Critique ACBD 2025)
🏆 Winner:
- Tokyo, ces jours-ci (Tokyo These Days) by Taiyô Matsumoto – Kana
(English edition published by VIZ)
Other Finalists:
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Les Guerres invisibles by Marina Lisa Komiya – Casterman
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Losers by Kôji Yoshimoto – Akata
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Les Nations du Soleil sanglant (Nations of the Bloodied Sun) by Ikka Matsuki – Akata
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The Song About Green by Gao Yan – Casterman
Source: ACBD
English (US) · 