[NTT Solmare Corporation] Beni Shoga celebrates the start of voting with a special paper lantern! “Everyone’s Choice!!” is a festival where general readers vote to decide the next breakout digital comic. “Digital Comic Awards 2026” Voting Opening Announcement NTT Solmare Corporation Press Release: September 22, 2025 Benishouga is celebrating the start of voting with a special paper lantern! “Everyone’s Choice!!” is a festival where general readers vote to decide the next breakout digital comic. “Digital Comic Awards 2026” Voting Opening Announcement Try to come up with a “comedy” (Ogiri) based on the previous Grand Prize winning work and the next big thing: a heart-pounding scene! Comic C’moa, one of Japan’s largest comprehensive e-book stores, operated by NTT Solmare Corporation (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Osaka; President and CEO: Toshiaki Asahi; hereinafter referred to as NTT Solmare), is once again hosting the “Everyone’s Choice!! E-Comic Awards,” a poll in which readers can vote for the next big hit, to determine the next big hit. We will be holding the “Everyone’s Choice!! Digital Comic Awards 2026” event. To commemorate the start of voting, on Monday, September 22nd, Kumamoto Pro Wrestling and Miki Inada from Beni Shoga appeared on stage to announce the start of voting for the “Everyone’s Choice!! Digital Comic Awards 2026.” At the event, Kumamoto and Inada celebrated the start of voting and participated in a “Ogiri” (comic-comic contest) and took on the challenge of coming up with the next big thing: a heart-pounding scene.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/9284/703/9284-703-6e7ed4d589553a5a57c9914521047447-3900×2600.jpg ■Last year’s grand prize winning submissions take on the challenge of Ogiri!
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/9284/703/9284-703-042d84518595a15e4ee627435f50a9f4-3900×2600.jpg Next, Benishoga took on the challenge of Ogiri (comic comedy) with a performance of “Dear Stranger Husband, I’m Asking for a Divorce,” the Grand Prize winner of last year’s Digital Comics Awards 2025. “Dear Stranger Husband, I’m Asking for a Divorce” is a doting love story depicting the awkward and mutually unrequited love between Byretta, who has been falsely accused of being a “villain” by those around her, and Anard, a loner who has never loved anyone before. When asked about his enthusiasm for the Ogiri, Kumamoto said, “It’s quite a bit of pressure, so we’ll do our best, but we hope the reporters will join us in making it a fun event.” Ogiri 1. In “Dear Stranger, I’m Divorcing You,” there’s a memorable scene in which the wife, Byletta, sends her husband, Anard, a shocking challenge in the form of a letter: “Dear Stranger, I’d like you to accept this opportunity to divorce me,” even though they haven’t even met in the eight years since they were married. What’s the first thing you want to say to your husbands when you finally meet them after eight years together? Inada replied, “Oh, so you’ve thinned out your hair,” and Kumamoto replied, “It’s been a while. That supermarket in front of the station has been turned into apartments.” After listening to each other’s answers, Kumamoto commented, “I can feel your consideration and kindness,” expressing his admiration for Inada’s vague phrasing. Inada responded to Kumamoto’s answer by saying, “First of all, I can’t understand it in Kansai dialect.” Ogiri 2. In “Dear Stranger, I’m Divorcing You,” husband Analdo gathers rumors about his wife, Byletta, whom he hasn’t seen in eight years, and discovers that she’s a terrible villain. Why are there rumors going around that the two members of Beni Shoga are villains? Inada said, “I gathered people I didn’t really like and did a live vaudeville show,” while Kumamoto said, “When Inada went out drinking at night, I had fun, but when we met the next day, I treated him like a stranger.” Kumamoto pointed out Inada’s answer, saying, “He’s a pretty nasty guy.” Inada commented on Kumamoto’s answer, which was supposed to be a comedy show but was too realistic, saying, “Is that bad? Did you hear it from a junior?” Kumamoto got through the situation with a vague answer, “No, it’s just an answer for a comedy show.” ■The invention of pickled ginger! What is the “next big hit” “heart-pounding scene in a girls’/women’s manga”…? In keeping with the purpose of the Digital Comic Awards, “to have everyone choose the next big hit,” we asked the duo from Benishouga to come up with “the next big hit” in a girls’/women’s manga. First, let’s take a look at a heart-pounding scene from “The Story of Meeting Your Soulmate,” which won the Women’s Category Award at the 2025 Digital Comics Awards. This dramatic love story revolves around “fate,” and begins when Yuki, a 20-year-old girl living alone in Tokyo from the countryside, desperately desires to find someone to fall in love with. A friend invites her to a club for the first time in her life, and she meets Iori. In response to the question, “Do you have a favorite
heart-pounding scene that you’d like to experience at least once?” Kumamoto passionately replied, “I love back hugs. I like (natural) back hugs that aren’t like, ‘I’m giving you a back hug!'” Inada questioned Kumamoto’s statement, saying, “You know what they call kabedon? Kumamoto has always said, ‘I’ve been getting kabedon since before it was popular,’ but I don’t think that’s true.” Kumamoto shared a nostalgic anecdote, saying, “I’ve been getting kabedon for about 15 years. (When kabedon first came out about 12 years ago,) I thought, ‘Oh, that’s what it was called.'”
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/9284/703/9284-703-266202eb5ad8aece792807d4f8a4f5b0-3900×2600.jpg Then, they flipped over to answer what they thought would be the next big breakthrough heart-pounding scene. Inada answered “Knee-sitting.” Inada explained, “Chin-grabbing, lap-heading, and back hugs are usually initiated by guys, but it’s rare for girls to initiate them. So, it’s a scene where the guy sits on the girl’s lap. Personally, I like having the guy sit on my lap, and even though you can’t see the guy’s face, it’s warm.” Kumamoto said of the “lap-sitting” technique that Inada invented: “The conversation before and after is important, and it makes a wonderful image,” she commented. Next, Kumamoto responded with an illustration, announcing “Miss Kiss.” She explained, “It’s a scene in a mixed-gender relay race where the boy accidentally kisses the girl while passing the baton.” Inada chimed in, “What do you mean, ‘by mistake?'” and the audience erupted in laughter. Next, the two actors performed the scenes they’d come up with. Both Kumamoto and Inada gave passionate performances, thrilling the audience.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/9284/703/9284-703-cc1f06fc23579ae57a832dbec2d3aabd-3900×2600.jpg Finally, Inada commented, “It was so much fun! I’ve never voted before, but this event has made me want to vote! I hope everyone will join in and do so.” Kumamoto commented, “Don’t miss this opportunity to contribute to your favorite manga by voting. Manga is a textbook. I learned everything about love from manga. This is an opportunity to read many volumes digitally. I hope you will all cast your vote.” Finally, the two called out, “Everyone, please vote!” to encourage people to start voting in the “Everyone’s Choice!! Digital Comic Awards 2026.” *When quoting or reproducing the contents of this release, paid distribution on web or mobile sites is prohibited. *Please refrain from secondary use for purposes other than introducing this event. 2. “Everyone’s Choice!! Digital Comic Awards 2026” Voting Site and Overview Project Name: Everyone’s Choice!! Digital Comic Awards 2026 Voting Period: Monday, September 22, 2025 – Sunday, November 30, 2025 Voting site: https://www.cmoa.jp/comic_prize/ Categories : Male Category, Female Category, Alternate World Category, Light Novel Category, BL Category, TL Category Number of Entries: 100 How to Vote: Click the voting button on the voting site *You can vote without registering as a member. *You can vote once per category (6 categories total). Recommended Publishers (in alphabetical order, titles omitted): Earth Star Entertainment, Akita Shoten, Alphapolis, Ichijinsha, Eiwa Publishing, SB Creative, Chuu Publishing, Overlap, Otome Dolce Comics, Kaiohsha, Kasakura Publishing, KADOKAWA, CLAP Comics, Gentosha Comics, Core Magazine, Core Mix, Kodansha, Seymour Comics, Shueisha, Cream Puff, Shusuisha ORIGINAL, Shufu to
Seikatsusha, Julian Publishing, Shogakukan, Shodensha, CLLENN, Shinshokan, Shinchosha, Square Enix cus, Starts Publishing, Taiyo Tosho, Takeshobo, TO Books, DPN Books, Tokuma Shoten, Nihon Bungeisha, HarperCollins Japan, Hakusensha, Pachika, Fan Guild, Futabasha, Fusion Product, Bright Publishing, Printemps Publishing, Frontier Works, Bunkasha, Bevy, Houbunsha, Micro Magazine, Mag Garden, Manga Box, Mobile Media Research, Live Comics, Libre 3. Service Overview of the Comprehensive E-Book Store “Comic C’moa” Comic C’moa is constantly improving its services and expanding its features based on its vision of “spreading the passion for manga through passion and technology.” (1) Over 40 million monthly users! One of Japan’s largest
comprehensive e-book stores, celebrating its 21st anniversary (2) A rich selection of over 1.69 million books, primarily comics (3) Producing and distributing over 2,300 “C’mour Comics” titles, including original works that have been adapted into TV dramas (4) Offering a variety of services, including “C-Moa Unlimited Reading” (5) Over 4.07 million customer reviews, the largest in the industry (6) Over 52,000 free titles and over 1,000 special campaigns ≪All figures are as of August 31, 2025≫ 4. About NTT Solmare Corporation NTT Solmare’s goal is to “provide customers with fresh surprises and many moving experiences, and contribute to the creation of a prosperous society.” We operate “Comic C’moa,” one of Japan’s largest comprehensive e-book stores, produce comics under our original brand “C’moa Comics,” operate “MangaPlaza,” one of the largest e-manga distribution stores in the United States, and develop the popular mobile game series “Obey Me!”. Official website:
https://www.nttsolmare.com/ Business introduction site:
https://www.nttsolmare.com/about/ ■ E-book business – Operation of “Comic C’moa,” one of Japan’s largest comprehensive e-book stores Official website: https://www.cmoa.jp/ – Development of the original brand “C’moa Comics,” a leader in digital publishing Official website: https://www.cmoa.jp/cmoacomics/ ・Comic C’moa commercial: “Too many manga! The largest in the industry!!” Official website:
https://www.cmoa.jp/cm/ -Operates “MangaPlaza,” one of the largest digital manga distribution stores in the United States. Official website: https://mangaplaza.com/