The heroine, Ruka, who was banned from taking part in the activities of her club during the summer vacation, meets a strange boy named Umi. She is fascinated by Umi, who she sees swimming freely in an aquarium, and finds out that he, along with Sora, was raised by a dugong. At that time a meteorite fell into the sea and all the fish disappeared from the world. The mystery of the sea deepens and the story spreads to encompass the life of the earth.

Thank you very much for your kindness. All the prize-wining works are wonderful and again, I feel very proud to receive this award. I thank you all. As for the exhibition, I think the exhibition, which enlarged the original works, was excellent and had a tremendous impact. However, the exhibits in the Manga section gave me the impression of conveying less information because the displays of other sections had a lot of movement. I think that the exhibition would become more spectacular if another twist were added to the display of award-winning works, especially to the Grand Prize winner.

Children of the Sea may be considered as a work that represents today‘s times. Under the threat of an environmental crisis, criticism of or skepticism toward “civilization” is rife throughout the world. Can humanity remain as it is today? Are we always right? IGARASHI Daisuke has transformed those fears and thoughts into a beautiful fantasy. This is a story about a boy, the destiny of mankind, and the broad ocean itself. There are many authors who can portray human beings, but has there ever been anyone who can depict the ocean or nature this well? IGARASHI’s pen guides us under the sea. We can play with dolphins or giant squid. Manga may not be able to change the world, but it can bring a new imagination of the world through it. We can imagine the future prospects and an image of the way human beings and the earth should be. In the days of widespread self-indulgence and instantaneous pleasure, this is a work that casts a broad perspective of the future. We should be proud of the fact that this work rises from the realm of Japanese manga.