An upcoming manga artist dies before the debut is published

Summary

Denji Yutai won the Dengeki Grand Prize but tragically passed away before his debut manga could be published.
Yutai's work, titled Fairy Physics, will still be published after consultation with his family.
Toshimichi Uzuo, a fellow artist and friend of Yutai, shared how Yutai inspired their own writing careers.

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- A friend from the past speaks

An upcoming new mangaka died last week before their debut was due to be published next year. The pen name of the new artist was Denji Yutai, which is the only name that has been shared at this point. He won the Dengeki Grand Prize, a manga prize, in the fall of 2024. Now he won't have the chance to see his work formally published.

The news came via the X account (formerly Twitter) of Dengeki Bunko, the organization behind the award. They published 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 still publish the work available from Yutai in a way that respects his death and follows what was known about his wishes.

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Denji Yutai's only work

An award-winning debut

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

The manga world thus had its eyes on Yutai, who would begin publishing his works officially in 2025. Unfortunately, the new artist died on December 12, 2024 due to a previously unknown illness. Fairy Physics: Physics PHenomenon Phantom was meant to be published as part of winning the Dengeki Grand Prize, and will still be done after consultation with Yutai's family, who have given permission for the work to still be published as planned.

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

Denji Yutai passed away suddenly due to illness last Thursday, December 12, 2024.

All of us involved in the Dengeki Grand Prize and the editorial staff 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

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

Uzou also shared that Yutai had wanted to be a light novel writer for many years, even before Uzuo had started writing anything himself. It wasn't until Yutai convinced Uzuo to try writing as well that Uzuo even tried. Inspired by Yutai, Uzuo submitted their first work for the Dengeki Grand Prize and luckily was able to win despite it being their first attempt. According to livedoor News, regarding Yutai's suggestion to start writing, Uzuo said (translated from Japanese), “Looking back 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 had been friends in their youth. Now that Yutai has passed, Uzuo has talked more about him and their relationship, revealing that they felt Yutai was always the more talented writer. They have also said that as long as they continue their career as a light novel writer, they will continue to remind everyone else of what Denji Yutai was able to contribute in his short time as a writer as well, and not let the world forget Yutai's achievement before his death.