Summary
-
Dandy Yutai won the Dengeki Grand Prix, but tragically died before publishing his debut manga.
-
Yutai's work, titled “Fairytale Physics,” will still be published after consultation with his family.
-
Toshimichi Uzuo, a fellow artist and friend of Yutai, shared how Yutai inspired them to pursue writing careers.
Quick links
-
-
A friend from the past is speaking
-
An up-and-coming mangaka died last week before their debut was due out next year. The new artist's moniker was Dandy Yutai, which is the only name that has been shared at this point. In the fall of 2024, he won the Dengeki Grand Prix, a manga award. Now he will not have the opportunity to see his work officially published.
The news came via the X (formerly Twitter) account of Dengeki Bunko, the organization behind the award. They posted an announcement on December 27, 2024, stating that the winner of this year's award had died. In a statement, Dengeki Bunko said they would continue to publish the work that was available from Yutai out of respect for his death and in accordance with what is known of his wishes.

Relatives
Top 6 romance manga debuting in 2024, ranked
2024 saw the debut of some great romance manga, and for fans of the genre and newcomers alike, these are the best of the bunch.
Dandy Yutai's only work
Award-winning debut
The Dengeki Grand Prix, or Dengeki Novel Award, is an award given to both long and short stories sponsored by manga giant KADOKAWA. The award has been in existence since 1994, and Danji Yutai (whose pen name translates as “Electromagnetic Ghost'') was its 31st laureate. In 2024, 3,819 works were submitted for the award, as well as Yutai's work titled 『妖精の经经学―Phantom Physical Phenomenon―』(Physics Phenomenon Phantom: Physics PHenomenon Phantom) became the winner.
Thus, the manga world turned its attention to Yutai, who was scheduled to begin official publication of his works in 2025. Unfortunately, the new artist died on December 12, 2024 due to a previously undisclosed illness. Physics Phenomenon Phantom: Physics PHenomenon Phantom was to be published as part of receiving the Dengeki Grand Prize, and will still be published in consultation with the Yutai family, who have given permission for the work to be published as planned.
Regarding Yutai Dengeki's sudden death, Bunko wrote (as quoted by livedoor News, translated from Japanese),
Dandy Yutai passed away suddenly due to illness last Thursday, December 12, 2024.
All of us at the Dengeki Grand Prix and the editorial department at Dengeki Media Works are stunned and deeply saddened by this sudden news. We are deeply saddened by his sudden death just before his debut.
Relatives
MangaPlus reveals the 10 most read chapters of 2024
MangaPlus, a huge manga library, released the most read chapters of the year.
Inspiration for others
A friend from the past is speaking
Since then, several other light novel and manga authors have written about the tragedy of Yutai's death before he could see his work published. Among them is Toshimichi Uzuo, a previous Dengeki Grand Prix winner who has written several more stories. Uzuo wrote that they were friends with Yuta, and although they didn't share details about what they worked on together, they had been friends for a long time.
Uzu also shared that Yutai wanted to be a light novel writer for years, even before the Uzuas started writing anything themselves. It wasn't until Yutai convinced Uzuo to try writing as well that Uzuo even tried. Inspired by Yuta, Uzuo submitted their first work to the Dengeki Grand Prix and fortunately were able to win, even though it was their first attempt. According to livedoor News, Uzuo said of Yutai's suggestion to start writing (translated from Japanese), “Looking back now, I can understand that it was a turning point in my life.”
In the following years, they became more distant, but Uzuo revealed that they did not deny that they were friends in their youth. Now that Yutai is dead, Uzuo talks more about him and their relationship, revealing that they felt Yutai was always the more talented writer. They also said that as long as they have a light novel writer in their career, they will continue to remind everyone else of what Dandy Yutai was also able to contribute in his short time as a writer, and not let the world forget about it Yutai's Achievement before he dies .

MORE
Eiichiro Oda pays tribute to Dragon Ball Mangaka Toriyama
Many mangaka pay homage to Dragon Ball author Toriyama. Here's the latest from Oda.
Source: livedoor News