Areyo Hoshikuzu

Areyo Hoshikuzu centers on two former World War II soldiers reuniting in the aftermath of Japan's defeat. One year later, Tokutarou Kawashima, a man who drinks heavily amid the city's ruined landscape, meets his old comrade Kadomatsu Kuroda. The manga portrays the struggles of daily life in post-war Tokyo's underworld, touching on the black market, sex workers known as "pan-pan girls," government-sanctioned "Comfort Facilities," and the plight of war orphans. The work received the 23rd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Awards in 2019 for New Creator.