New manga artist dies before debut is published

Summary

Denji Yutai won the Dengeki Grand Prize, but tragically died before his debut manga could be published.
Yutai's work, entitled The Physics of Fairies, is yet to be published after consultation with his family.
Toshimichi Uzuo, a fellow artist and friend of Yutai, shared how Yutai inspired their own writing career.

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- A friend from the past speaks

A new mangaka died last week before their debut was published next year. The new artist's first name was Denji Yutai, which is the only name that has been shared at this time. He was the winner of the Dengeki Grand Prize, a manga award, in the fall of 2024. Now, he won't have the chance to see his work officially published.

The news came via the X (formerly Twitter) account of Dengeki Bunko, the organization behind the prize. They posted the announcement on December 27, 2024, stating that the winner of this year's award had passed away. In the statement, Dengeki Bunko said they would continue to publish Yutai's available work in a way that was respectful of his death and following what was known of his wishes.

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Denji Yutai's only work

An award-winning debut

The Dengeki Grand Prize, or Dengeki Novel Prize, is an award given to both long and short stories sponsored by manga giant KADOKAWA. The prize has been in existence since 1994, and Denji Yutai (whose pen name translates to “Electromagnetic Ghost”) was its 31st recipient. 3,819 entries were submitted for the 2024 prize, and Yutai's work, titled 『妖精の移动学―Physics PHenomenon PHantom―』(Fairy Physics: Physics PHenomenon PHantom) was the winner.

The manga world thus set its sights on Yutai, who would begin officially publishing his works in 2025. Unfortunately, the new artist died on December 12, 2024, due to a previously undisclosed illness. Fairy Physics: Physics PHenomenon PHantom it was supposed to be published as part of winning the Dengeki Grand Prize, and it will still be after consultation with Yutai's family, who gave permission for the work to continue to be published as planned.

Regarding Yutai's sudden death, Dengeki Bunko posted (as quoted by Livedoor News, translated from Japanese),

Denji Yutai died suddenly of an illness last Thursday, December 12, 2024.

All of us involved in the Dengeki Grand Prize and the editorial department of Dengeki Media Works are stunned and deeply saddened by this sudden news. We are deeply saddened by his sudden passing just before his debut.

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An inspiration to others

A friend from the past speaks

Several other light novel and manga artists have since posted about the tragedy of Yutai's death before he could see his work published. Among them is Toshimichi Uzuo, a previous Dengeki Grand Prize winner who has written several other stories. Uzuo posted that they were friends with Yutai, and while they didn't share details about what they were working on together, they were friends for a long time.

Uzou also said that Yutai wanted to be a light novel writer for many years, even before Uzuo started writing anything himself. It wasn't until Yutai convinced Uzuo to try writing as well that Uzuo actually tried. Inspired by Yutai, Uzuo submitted their first work for the Dengeki Grand Prize and fortunately managed to win, even though it was their first attempt. According to livedoor News, Uzuo said of Yutai's suggestion to start writing, (translated from Japanese), “Looking back on it now, it was a turning point in my life.”

The two became more distant in later years, but Uzuo reported that they did not deny that they were friends in their youth. Now that Yutai is dead, Uzuo spoke more about him and their relationship, revealing that they felt Yutai was always the more talented writer. They also said that as long as a light novel writer continues his career, they will continue to remind everyone of what Denji Yutai was able to contribute in his short time as a writer, and won't let the world forget . Yutai's achievement before his death.