Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2017" Awards Ceremony Held! The popular anime chosen by fan votes was "Yuri! on ICE"!

On Monday, March 13, the final day of the "Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2017," an awards ceremony was held to announce the award-winning films and winners in each category.

The Tokyo Animation Awards Festival (TAAF) is an international animation film festival organized by the Motion Picture Association of Japan and co-sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The final day of the event, March 13th, was the first day of the four-day event.

On March 13, the final day of the event, an award ceremony was held at Toshima Center Square, a multipurpose space on the first floor of the Toshima Ward Office in Tokyo, to announce the award-winning works and winners in each category. The winners of the "Animation Merit Category," which had been announced in advance, took the stage, and the winners of the "Competition Category" and "Animation of the Year Category" were announced and presented with awards.

First, the winners of the "Animation Merit Award" took the stage. As previously announced, certificates and trophies were presented to those who have made significant contributions to the animation industry. Manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, who has created many masterpieces of science fiction animation, including "Space Battleship Yamato," "Space Pirate Captain Harlock," and "The Galaxy Express 999," said, "I am deeply moved when I recall the work of the many staff members, comrades, and colleagues who participated in the production of these works. Now is not the time for people to be fighting each other on the earth. If we don't do our best for the future, the planet could be destroyed. I think animation has that aspect (of appealing a message)," he said, speaking of his message for the future.

Yoko Maekawa, known for her animation songs such as "Cutie Honey" and "Space Cobra," sang her debut song "Hyokkori Hyotanjima" a cappella, enlivening the audience.

Next, in the "Anime of the Year" category, which awarded the "Best Work," "Best Individual," and "Best Anime Fan" awards to the most outstanding works and individuals from the 550 works broadcast and screened in Japan during fiscal 2016 (October 18, 2015 (Sunday) to October 15, 2016 (Saturday)), the "Best Director and Direction" went to Makoto Shinkai, the " In the "Animation of the Year" category, the "Director/Direction Award" went to Makoto Shinkai, the "Original Story/Screenplay Award" to Reiko Yoshida, the "Animator Award" to Sadashi Hiramatsu, the "Art, Color and Image Award" to Shunichiro Yoshihara, and the "Sound and Performance Award" to Hiroyuki Sawano, creators who truly represent the current animation scene. In the Best Picture Awards, "Unamplified" won in the "Theatrical Film Category," and "Yuri! on ICE" won in the "Theatrical Film Category" and "Yuri!

On the other hand, in the Competition section, which is open to both professional and amateur animated films that have not yet been released in Japan, "The Girl Without Hands" (Director: Sébastien Laudenbach) won the Grand Prix in the Animated Feature Film section, Of Shadows and Wings..., directed by Elice Meng and Eleonora Marinoni, won the Grand Prix in the Short Films category. Masako Kudo, a member of the jury for the Short Length Competition, commented, "We received entries from many countries this year, and many of them were by female animation directors. I was impressed by the fact that animation has become a more and more diverse form of expression and has matured into a form of artistic expression," she said in her general comment.

The above two works also received the "Tokyo Governor's Award. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who took the stage, said, "I would like to send out information about Japan from Tokyo through anime and manga. I sincerely hope that animation will continue to bring peace and hope to the world." The ceremony concluded with the presentation of certificates and trophies to the directors of the two films, along with expectations for animation.

The winners of each category are as follows

Animation Distinguished Achievement Award winners (in alphabetical order, titles omitted, representative works introduced)

Sound Director: Susumu Akutagawa (representative works: "Knight of the Ribbon", etc.)

(Director) Hiroshi Ikeda (Representative works: "Sally the Wizard", etc.)

Yoshifumi Kondo (Deceased) (Representative Works: "Mimi wo Summaseba" etc.)

Producer: Junsei Gotoda (Deceased) (Representative works: "Shinninkidou: 3 no hanashi" and others)

Tadanao Tsuji (Art Director)

Animation Artist: Taku Furukawa (Representative works: "Surprise Board", etc.)

Singer: Yoko Maekawa (Best known for the opening of "Hyokkori Hyotanjima" and others)

Eiko Masuyama (Voice Actor) (Major Works: "Lupin the Third (2nd season)" as Fujiko Mine, etc.)

Reiji Matsumoto (Author of "The Galaxy Express 999", etc.)

Color Designer: Michiyo Hoda (Deceased) (Representative works: "Grave of the Fireflies", etc.)

Animation of the Year Category] (*Honorifics omitted)

Grand Prix for Best Picture in the Theatrical Film category: "聲の形" (The Shape of the Millennium)

Grand Prix for Best Picture - Television: "Yuri! on ICE

Individual Award for Best Director: Makoto Shinkai

Individual Award for Best Original Story/Screenplay: Reiko Yoshida

Individual Award for Best Animator: Sadafumi Hiramatsu

Individual Award - Art Direction, Color and Image: Shunichiro Yoshihara

Individual Award - Sound and Performance: Hiroyuki Sawano

<Animation Fan Award> Yuri! on ICE

on ICE" won the Grand Prix in the TV category and "Yuri! on ICE" was awarded at the same time as the Grand Prix in the TV category.

Competition Category] (*Honorifics omitted)

Feature Length Competition Grand Prix〉 The Girl Without Hands

　Title: The Girl Without Hands

　Director:Sébastien Laudenbach

　The Governor of Tokyo Award

Best Short Award in Feature Film Competition] Call Me Zucchini

　Title: My Life as a Courgette

　Director: Claude Barras

Grand Prix in the Short Films category: Of Shadows and Wings

　Of Shadows and Wings...

　Director: Elice Meng and Eleonora Marinoni

　The Governor of Tokyo Award

Best Short Award] The Spider's Web

　Title: "Spider web" "The Gossamer

　Director:Natalia Chernysheva

<Short Length Competition - Mayor of Toshima City Award> A Fistful of Apricot Mushrooms

　Title: A fistful of girolles

　Director:Julien Grande