A Young Jump Newcomer Manga Award winner has triggered widespread backlash after readers spotted AI-style visual errors, calling the victory suspicious and questioning whether one of Japan's biggest manga contests is now rewarding AI-generated artwork.
The manga in question, "Mikuni no Hababakir-sama" by Morinaga Burubun (森永侮瑠戊ン), received an Honorable Mention along with the Monthly Best Award, earning a total payout of ¥430,000. The official jury commentary praised its "very high drawing ability," its fan-service, its action and energy, and the effort to keep readers engaged:
They also noted that the character settings, story, and structure had "much room for improvement," saying the plot was overly complicated and explanations unclear, making it harder to read smoothly. The announcement also encouraged readers to view the full work online.
But then came the tweet that exploded the entire situation. A user posted a thread saying that the artwork had obvious AI tells:
"There are women with beards, children whose eyes look like they're melting, and the main characters all have that typical 'AI masterpiece face' you see in generated art... It's completely AI illustration. So is the Young Jump Newcomer Award allowed to use AI?"
The accusation secured 29 million views in 2 days, but came 2 months after the news of the winner was announced.
Now readers are openly questioning whether the contest verified the authenticity of the art at all, or if a generative AI submission just walked away with nearly half a million yen while human entrants competed honestly.