Shohei Ohtani to Serve as Judge for Newly Established “Jump Sports Manga Sho” Award; Publisher’s Request Gladly Accepted

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:35 JST, May 28, 2024

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will serve as a judge for the new “Jump Sports Manga Sho” (Award for Jump sports comics). The award will be held by the editorial department of Shueisha Inc’s Shukan Shonen Jump weekly magazine.

The company asked Ohtani to be a judge because it wanted a top athlete on the panel. The other three judges include manga artists and authors. Ohtani gladly accepted the request, according to the company.

The other judges are Takehiko Inoue of “Slam Dunk,” Riichiro Inagaki, original author of “Eyeshield 21,” and Tadatoshi Fujimaki of “Kuroko’s Basketball.”

The competition will be open to professionals and amateurs until Oct. 31. Prizes including one million yen are up for grabs to the winning entry, which will be announced in this year’s late-December edition of Shonen Jump.