Ichi the Witch and Strikeout Pitch Win 2025 Next Manga Awards

Ichi the Witch and Strikeout Pitch took the top honors at this year’s Next Manga Awards, known in Japan as Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Taisho. Ichi the Witch finished first in the Print Manga category, while Strikeout Pitch led the Web Manga side.

Ichi the Witch, written by Osamu Nishi and drawn by Shiro Usazaki, follows Ichi, the only male witch in the world, a former hunter who is taken under the wing of the great witch Desscaras. Since launching in Shonen Jump in September 2024 it has won praise from creators like Kohei Horikoshi, who called it the epitome of shonen manga, and Katsura Hoshino. Its first four volumes had 700,000 copies in circulation as of July, and Viz Media will bring the first print volume to English readers in February 2026.

The win is also a quiet milestone for Usazaki, marking her return to manga after the arrest of her former Act Age collaborator Tatsuya Matsuki. Nishi, for his part, is also known for Welcome to Demon School! Iruma kun.

Strikeout Pitch, by Kyu Sumiyoshi, centers on high school baseball captain Heita Kobori, who recruits the mysterious Fusetsu Kiriyama after seeing him pitch, only to learn that Kiriyama can throw at his best just three times a day. It began on Shonen Jump+ in September 2024, following Sumiyoshi’s earlier series Hyperinflation.

Elsewhere in the awards, a special prize sponsored by Nichirei went to Mai Matsuda’s A Fine Day for Going Home After School, which has an anime in the works, while a separate pair of prizes recognized Yuto Sano’s Gokurakugai and Makoto Miyagi’s adaptation of The Witch and the Mercenary. Fans drove the results, submitting 9,432 entries and casting roughly 600,000 votes.

It is a strong list to join. Last year’s winners were Kagurabachi and Girl Meets Rock, and earlier honorees include Kaiju No. 8, Oshi no Ko, Medalist and SPY x FAMILY.

My take: These awards have a real knack for spotting series just before they take off, so both winners are worth a look now. I am especially curious about Ichi the Witch, since praise from Horikoshi is no small thing.