Kagurabachi Anime demand surges after winning prestigious Tsugimanga Awards

Kagurabachi, a shonen manga written and illustrated by Takeru Hokazono, has won the prestigious 2024 Tsugimanga Awards (Next Manga Award 2024) in the printed manga category with a whopping 101,836 votes. 

It got a winning margin of nearly 70K from second-place Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun If Episode of Mafia (33,033 votes) and the third-place holder, Tsumiki Ogami & Strange Everyday Life (30,384 votes). This award searches for manga works that have the potential to become popular animes in the future, and no doubt Kagurabachi is on the road to becoming one. 

Although it remains a little short of shattering the numbers Oshi no Ko (103,400 votes) made in 2021, the manga is now on fans’ highly anticipated anime wishlist, joining its predecessors My Hero Academia (2015), Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (2017), The Apothecary Diaries (2019), and Undead Unluck (2020) which has won fans heart worldwide.

 Kagurabachi mangaka’s note on Award winning  

The creator of Kagurabachi, Takeru Hokazono showed his talent with Enten, winning the 100th Tezuka Manga Award in 2020. Following year, both Enten and Farewell! Cherry Boy! published in the Jump GIGA magazine’s Spring issue. In 2022, he worked on Madogiwa de Amu, a concise 15-page creation, and one-shot - Roku no Meiyaku, and finally got the limelight with the epic sword action shonen manga Kagurabachi, released on Sep. 18, 2023, in Weekly Shonen Jump

As per a translated note from Japanese to English, Hokazono-sensei said:

"I truly feel that many people have read it and found it 'interesting,' which makes me extremely happy and fills me with a burst of energy to keep drawing manga. I am deeply grateful!

To meet the expectations of everyone who said 'It's coming next!', I'm even more motivated to make it more interesting, so please continue to support me from now on!"

Upon receiving the news, on his official Twitter handle (@外薗 健), sensei humorously commented:

“"Yay!! I won’t have to worry about fried rice for a while!!"

He also drew a full-colored manga cover, featuring Kagurabachi’s protagonist Chihiro Rokuhira. 

Why should you give Kagurabachi a try? 

Chihiro Rokuhira, son of a famous Sword Blacksmith, is on a venture to avenge his father. As the story follows, Chihiro faces several life-threatening enemies and adversaries, while tracking down the murders. In a world of modern society and traditional culture plot, the storyline is bound to entertain fans with its action, fantasy and sword fighting storyline with a sip of comedy. 

My Anime List ranked Kagurabachi 1207th with 7.83 stars (by 14,696 users). It reached the 46th chapter on Monday. 

Anime recommendation like Kagurabachi 

If you’ve caught up with Kagurabachi’s latest chapter, and want to explore similar content while waiting for the next release, we’ve a few recommendations you can definitely check out. 

Noragami (7.94 stars on My Anime List):

An ancient war god, Yato, is nearly forgotten in modern society due to the lack of demand in modern peaceful society. While other gods have big shrines and large numbers of devotees, Yato doesn’t have any followers or shines, until he crosses paths with Hiyori Iki. 

Together with her and Yukine, Yato spent his days in fun, hoping to get his own shrine one day. However, it’s not an easy task, and the story focuses on achieving his dream while unveiling Yato’s dark past. Noragami has several sword battles, making it one of the best alternatives for Kagurabachi with both anime and manga releases. 

Ao no Exorcist / Blue Exorcist (7.48 stars on My Anime List):

Rin Okumura, a teenage boy, found that he had the power of the demon, given by his very father Satan to conquer Assiah. However, Rin, together with his brother Yukio, is willing to defend it, instead of devouring it. Similar to Kagurabachi, this anime/manga has many epic sword battles that take place in a modern society storyline. If you’re searching for refreshment but in a similar theme, Ao no Exorcist is highly recommended. 

Kimetsu No Yaiba / Demon Slayer (8.46 stars on My Anime List):

There are hardly any anime fans who haven’t watched or don’t have Kimetsu No Yaiba aka Demon Slayer on their Watchlist. Although it’s a little different from Kagurabachi, for those who want to feel some mesmerizing sword clashes and a demon-hunting storyline, this is a go-to suggestion. 

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