My mother, who was a baby boomer, was a person whose purpose in life seemed to be for her son to gain prominence in society. I did not meet her expectations and have kept writing manga, but when my works gained even a little popularity, I heard that my mother talked about me proudly as if I had conquered the whole country everywhere and it was actually a mess. It has been more than ten years since my mother passed away. Time flies, and I feel not, really thrilled, but something like relief at receiving such a great prize. This work will not end in the near future. I would like to carry on and on and work harder taking this award as my encouragement. Thank you very much.

There is only one sky! The cry of the hero, should be heard by everyone in the world. Japan is divided by 3 major earthquakes and ravaged by an inferno. Our current anxieties and fears are represented as if this were an actual event, and one feels as if the evil noise is almost cracking out from the pages. Powerful pictures, precise presentations, the dignity of human beings, corners are never cut in all the details even the work has gone through many volumes, and it makes one feel like bowing to him as the reader senses the author's great effort. This is a masterpiece which will remain in manga history forever. None of the members of the Jury have any objection to award the Grand Prize to this work.