An up-and-coming manga artist dies before his debut is released

Summary

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

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- A friend from the past speaks

A new up-and-coming manga artist died last week before their debut was released next year. The new artist's pseudonym 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 prize, in the fall of 2024. Now he will not have the chance to see his work formally published.

The news came via the X (formerly Twitter) account of Dengeki Bunko, the organization behind the award. 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 it would still publish the work Yutai made available 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 Award, is a prize awarded to long and short stories sponsored by the manga giant KADOKAWA. The prize has existed since 1994 and Denji Yutai (whose pen name translates to “Electromagnetic Ghost” was the 31st recipient. There were 3,819 entries submitted for the 2024 prize and Yutai's work, titled 『妖精の物理学―Physics PHhenomenon Phantom―』(Fairy Physics: Phenomenon PHantom Physics) was the winner.

The manga world then had its eyes on Yutai, who was expected to start officially publishing his works in 2025. Unfortunately, the new artist died on December 12, 2024, due to a previously unknown illness. Fairy Physics: Phenomenon PHantom Physics it was supposed to be published as part of winning the Dengeki Grand Prize, and will still be published after consultation with Yutai's family, who has given permission for the work to still be published as planned.

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

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 department of Dengeki Media Works are stunned and deeply saddened by this sudden news. We are deeply saddened by his sudden passing shortly before his debut.

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An inspiration to others

A friend from the past speaks

Since then, a few other light novel and manga artists have posted about the tragedy of Yutai's death before he could see his work published. Among these is Toshimichi Uzuo, former winner of the Dengeki Grand Prize, who went on to write 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 had been friends for a long time.

Uzou also shared that Yutai had wanted to become a light novel writer for many years, even before Uzuo started writing anything on his own. It wasn't until Yutai convinced Uzuo to also try writing that Uzuo tried. Inspired by Yutai, Uzuo submitted his first work for the Dengeki Grand Prix and fortunately managed to win even though it was their first attempt. According to livedoor News, Uzuo said regarding Yutai's suggestion that he 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 having been friends in their youth. Now that Yutai is dead, Uzuo talked more about him and their relationship, revealing that they thought Yutai had always been the more talented writer. They also said that as long as they continue their careers as light novel writers, they will continue to remind everyone else of the contributions that Denji Yutai was able to make in his short time as a writer, and not let the world forget about it. Yutai's achievement before his death.