Someone Hertz and Home at the Horizon win the Next Manga Award

Japan's readers have chosen their next big thing, twice over. KADOKAWA announced the results of the 2026 Next Manga Award on 16 September, and the two divisions produced winners separated by 187 votes: さむわんへるつ (Someone Hertz) by ヤマノエイ in the comics division, and おかえり水平線 (Home at the Horizon) by 渡部大羊 in web manga. Those English renderings are the ones Crunchyroll News uses for the two titles.

What is the Next Manga Award?

The Next Manga Award — 次にくるマンガ大賞 — is run by KADOKAWA and decided entirely by reader votes rather than a publisher jury or a sales chart. That is the whole point of it: the prize exists to flag titles before they break out, which is why its winners tend to be mid-run series with a devoted following rather than the year's obvious bestsellers. The 2026 edition drew 7,952 entries across its two divisions and 382,581 votes, with the results posted on 16 September.

Who won the comics division?

さむわんへるつ by ヤマノエイ took first place with 51,868 points. The award describes it as a youth radio comedy about the frequency that connects people — a romance that happens largely on air. ふたりバス by 豊林サカネ finished second on 37,882 points, with レジスタ！ by 藤丸 third on 22,621.

Who won the web manga division?

おかえり水平線 by 渡部大羊 won the web manga division with 51,681 points — a youth ensemble drama set around a seaside bathhouse. ヒトナー by 屋宜知宏 took second on 48,327 points and 灰宮先輩は怖くてかわいい by 神山すむ third on 45,281. That 187 point gap between the two first places is as close as a reader vote gets, and it means the comics and web manga audiences are, give or take, the same size.

The special awards, including a new one for 2026

The Nichirei Award went to 境界のメロディ, an original story by 宮田俊哉 with art by 杉基イクラ and character designs by LAM. The U-NEXT Award went to ディグイット by ヨシダ。 in the comics division and to WITCHRIV by はくり in web manga. New for this year is the Niconico Manga Award, taken by 地味なおじさん、実は英雄でした。 from the team of 三河ごーすと, 今野ユウキ, ユーキあきら and 瑞色来夏. The nominated list runs to twenty titles per division, so the shortlists are worth reading even if you have no interest in the winners.

What happens next

A bookstore fair begins at participating shops across Japan from 17 September, opening in stages by store. Buyers of either first-place title get a special illustration card while stocks last; the offer excludes ebook stores and each shop sets its own dates. No anime adaptation has been announced for either winner, which leaves the prize as a reading recommendation for now rather than a production slate.

Our opinion

An award decided purely by readers usually gets dismissed as a popularity contest, and that is precisely what makes this one worth following. The Next Manga Award is not trying to crown the best-drawn book of the year; it is answering a narrower and more useful question — what are people recommending to each other before the marketing budget turns up? That 187 vote gap is the most telling number in the announcement, because it says the comics and web manga audiences are of almost identical size, which is a strong hint that both winners are about to stop being anyone's secret. The soft spot is the shape of the prize itself. One illustration card at the shops that choose to take part is a lovely gesture for those stores and no consolation at all for the ones that cannot join, and the blanket exclusion of ebook stores quietly tells readers that KADOKAWA still thinks the value sits on paper. The real test arrives in two years, when we can look back at these twenty titles and count how many are still running.