Harvey Awards 2026 Nominate Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, MHA and One Piece

The Harvey Awards have unveiled their 2026 nominations, with several major anime and manga properties earning spots across multiple categories. Voting is now open to comics industry professionals through August 28, and winners will be announced at New York Comic Con on October 9.

Best Adaptation Stacks Anime Against Western Heavyweights

The Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel category features a strong anime and manga contingent this year. Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, and My Hero Academia Final Season all earned nominations alongside the live-action second season of One Piece on Netflix and the Korean animated film Your Letter.

They face stiff competition from the Western side of the aisle. The Boys season 5, Invincible season 4, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Peacemaker season 2, and Spider-Noir round out the ten-nominee field. The breadth of the category reflects a year in which adaptations of comics and graphic novels dominated screens across film and television.

Chainsaw Man's Reze Arc marked the franchise's theatrical debut, while Demon Slayer's Infinity Castle trilogy has been one of the highest-grossing anime film projects in recent memory. My Hero Academia's Final Season brought Kohei Horikoshi's long-running superhero saga to its animated conclusion, and One Piece's live-action adaptation continued to draw massive global audiences on Netflix in its second season.

Best Manga Features a Literary-Leaning Lineup

The Best Manga category takes a distinctly different tone this year, skewing toward critically acclaimed and literary works rather than mainstream action titles. Six nominees are in contention:

Billy Bat by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (Kana/Abrams ComicArts)

He Rolled Me Up Like a Grilled Squid by Yoshiharu Tsuge (Drawn & Quarterly)

Land by Kazumi Yamashita (Yen Press)

Miss Ruki by Fumiko Takano (NYR Comics)

My Gorilla Family by Ichiro Iijima (Living the Line)

My Life in 24 Frames Per Second by Rintaro (Kana/Abrams ComicArts)

The selection highlights a growing recognition of manga beyond the shonen mainstream, with several nominees coming from boutique English-language publishers. Urasawa's Billy Bat, a complex thriller weaving conspiracy and history through the lens of a cartoon bat character, is among the most high-profile entries.

A Category With Strong Historical Precedent

The Harvey Awards have become an increasingly significant barometer for manga and anime recognition in the North American comics industry. Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama took home the Best Manga prize at the 2025 ceremony, while Chainsaw Man dominated the category from 2021 through 2023. Delicious in Dungeon won in 2024, riding the momentum of its anime adaptation on Netflix.

The Best Adaptation category has similarly seen anime properties gain ground in recent years, reflecting the medium's expanding footprint in global entertainment.

What Comes Next

Industry professionals can cast their votes through August 28, 2026. The winners will be revealed during a ceremony at New York Comic Con on October 9. With anime titles holding half the Best Adaptation nominations, the awards could mark another milestone year for Japanese entertainment's crossover into mainstream Western comics recognition.