Arab artists may not always get their due credit — so when an international manga competition gives awards to two Middle Eastern representatives, it's an accomplishment worth boasting.
A Jordanian and a Saudi took bronze awards in the Japanese competition showcasing the best manga art. Given by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the eighth annual international competition honors artists who have promoted Japanese comics overseas. The award ceremony took place at the Japanese embassy in Riyadh, according to Arab News, where Badran's brother received the award on her behalf.
Of the 15 award winners, three of them were Chinese (including second place), while five were European. The top places came from Mongolia, China, Malaysia and Taiwan. The awards committee chose one gold, three silver, and 11 bronze winners.
Granted, there wasn't much representation from the Middle East in the competition. But the ones that did win were stunning.
Here's a variation of "13:05," which won the Bronze Award, by Amani Badran from Jordan. (Check out her website, amani-46.deviantart.com, or her Tumblr account aminoscribblers.tumblr.com.)
Another Bronze Award was given to "Another World, It Exists" by SaKoo SHS from Saudi Arabia. (citymanga.com)
