On March 12 (Friday), the 9th Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko Novel Awards (General Category), sponsored by Kadokawa Corporation, was announced, and the title Codename: Seize the Weakness of N-Target! by Ms. Akari Kuroyanagi, a senior of Soka University’s Faculty of Letters, won a Gold Award.

The Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko Novel Award gathers applications from both professionals and amateurs, with works mainly for child readers ranging from ages nine to 13 regardless of the category of youth, adventure, or fantasy, as appropriate for Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko. The winning work will, as a general principle, be published by Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko. Ms. Kuroyanagi won the award and was selected from many applicants, proceeding from the first and second selections and to the final selection.

The winning work, Codename: Seize the Weakness of N-Target! is the story of Nano, who is a not-so-average girl attending a not-so-average school, as she challenges herself desperately for her dreams. Nano attends a spy school that actually oversees espionage around the world. Nano, who is studying to become a spy located in the U.S., where geniuses from around the world gather, has a dream to become the world’s foremost spy. As a “world director citizen,” she continues with strict training so as to help realize peace around the world. This is a story in which Nano challenges her first mission, embracing the school’s motto, “Always with justice in your heart!”

Ms. Kuroyanagi commented on receiving the award as follows: “I am truly touched and filled with appreciation to receive such a wonderful award. I express my heartfelt appreciation to the members of the selection committee, the editors, and everyone involved in this Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko Novel Award, as well as all those that have supported me in my writing activities. Ever since I decided 15 years ago that I am going to become a children’s novelist, I have given it my all in my writing work with a spirit to connect everything around me, including my leisure and studies, to my novel. I want to enjoy many adventures together with my main characters, fully enjoying writing without forgetting a sense of humor, using words that I wanted to encounter from my elementary school days.”