Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2021" Award Ceremony Report Arrives! The Best Theatrical Film Award went to "Violet Evergarden

On Monday, March 15, 2021, the award ceremony of "Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2021" was held. Award winners, award-winning works, and comments were announced.

⇒ Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2021" will be held from March 12! Anohana" and "Nausicaa" were among the winners!

Animation Merit Award

Eight people were honored in the Animation Merit Category, which recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the development of the Japanese animation industry and culture.

Producer: Toshio Suzuki
As editor-in-chief of "Animage," Mr. Suzuki has planned numerous feature articles, widely recognized Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, and produced all of Studio Ghibli's works with precise strategies.

Comments by Toshio Suzuki (original in Japanese)
I started working in animation in May 1978, when I was working for an animation magazine called "Animage. I realized once again that it has been more than 40 years since I was actually involved in the production of animation. In addition, the person who has been most helpful to me in my animation career is (animation world master) Yasuo Otsuka. Thank you very much for the wonderful award you have given me today.

Toshio Suzuki

Manga Artist/Author/Screenwriter: Momoko Sakura
（Producer: Nobuaki Tanaka, General Manager, Production Department, Nippon Animation Inc.
The author of the original story and screenplay of "Chibi Maruko-chan," which has sold more than 32.5 million copies in total, Ms. Suzuki captures the world of children with her unique sense of language and poetry. His essays have sold a million copies for three consecutive years, a first in the publishing industry, and he has made great achievements.

Screenwriter: Takao Koyama
He has worked in a wide range of genres from gags to action, including "Time Bokan Series: Reversed Yippatu Man" and "DRAGON BALL Z." He has also devoted himself to the training of scenario writers. He has also devoted himself to the training of scenario writers and has produced many famous scriptwriters.

Animator: Shunji Saida
He is a skilled animator who has inherited the traditional drawing techniques developed by his predecessors through Toei Animation's feature films, and has delicately rendered the characters and animals with his soft and warm lines.

Honoree] Editor: Takeshi Seyama
He has worked on numerous animated films including "Heidi, Girl of the Alps," "Akira," and "Spirited Away," and has contributed greatly to the quality of Ghibli's works.

Honoree] Studio Singer: Kayo Iju
As one of Japan's leading studio musicians, Kayo Iju has supported many productions. She is a session vocalist whose enchanting voice enriches animated films.

Honoree] Voice actor: Michio Hazama
From the narrator of "Anne of Green Gables" to Shane Kopp in "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes," Michio Hazama has paved the way for voice acting as an art of storytelling, and is still making efforts to improve the status of voice actors.

Honoree] Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino
Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino, who has been involved in numerous works since the dawn of TV animation, including "Astro Boy" and "Mobile Suit Gundam," and has revolutionized and deepened the way giant robot animation is done in Japan.

Comments by Yoshiyuki Tomino on behalf of the honorees (original in Japanese)
I would like to thank all the staff and committee members who have cooperated with us. 48 years ago, we held an event at the now-defunct Toshima Public Hall, where all anime fans gathered together. At that time, it was rare to have an event where anime fans and creators could interact, but there were many women in the audience. This event made me realize that animation work is not only about drawing pictures, but also about interacting with these fans. I am the person I am today because of those girls. Thank you very much.

Yoshiyuki Tomino

Animation of the Year Category Awards

A list of 457 works screened or broadcast in Japan between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020. Votes were cast by the general public and a total of 386 people from a wide range of animation-related fields, including Japanese animation producers, related companies, media, critics, and animation stores.

<Individual Awards
(Original Story/Screenplay Category) Reiko Yoshida
Thank you very much for selecting "Violet Evergarden the Movie", which I am also involved in, in the Best Picture - Theatrical Film category as well as the Individual Award today. Thank you very much for coming to the theater in spite of the difficult situation in Corona.

(Director, Direction) Haruo Tonozaki
I am very honored to receive this award. I would like to thank all the staff and people involved in "Demon Slayer" and all the fans who support this work. I am truly grateful to have been involved in this work and to have the support of so many people. I will continue to work as hard and diligently as Sumijiro to live up to this award. Thank you very much.

(Animator Division) Akira Matsushima
Thank you very much for selecting me for this very prestigious award. I am very honored to receive this award twice, once last year and again this year. I am very happy to have been involved in such a fascinating work as "Demon Slayer" and to receive such an award. I would like to continue to draw the precious characters entrusted to me by the author, Mr. Goge, with even more love and care. We will work hard together with the production staff so that many people will enjoy the "Demon Slayer" anime. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

(Art, Color and Image Division) Mikiko Watanabe
Comment from Kyoto Animation Co.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude for receiving such a wonderful award for the second year in a row. Ms. Mikiko Watanabe has been working hard not only to improve her own skills but also to nurture her juniors. She told the younger students that the most important thing for them to become good at painting is to never stop working and to continue to complete their paintings. She would review her drawings, think about what was missing and what needed to be changed, and then redraw them. He emphasized the importance of not being told by others to move his hands, but to look for and notice things on his own. His words carried weight because he had practiced this himself. Mr. Watanabe had a strong and unshakable commitment to animation production and was a role model for the staff. His teachings are still with us today.

（Yuki Kajiura (Sound and Performance Division)
[Read comments on behalf of the staff from Yasutetsu Mori, Music Producer, Highwaystar Inc.
I am surprised and very honored to have been associated with this long-running work and to receive the prestigious award as I did last year.

I would like to continue to be diligent in my efforts to weave more beautiful sounds, cherishing each encounter with each work. Thank you very much.

<Anime Fan Award
Idolish Seven Second BEAT!
Executive Producer, NAMCO BANDAI Online Inc.
I am very happy to receive the Anime Fan Award, which is a very typical award for this work "Idolish. Director Bessho is currently working on the third season to great acclaim, so I apologize for not being able to visit here today. I have received a comment from the director.
(Director's comment) "It is a great honor to receive an award chosen by so many fans. It is a great honor to receive an award chosen by so many fans, and it means that my work is supported by so many fans. We will do our best so that the fans can enjoy the third season, which is currently in production!

Representative: Ayaka Negishi, IP General Producer, BANDAI NAMCO ONLINE Inc.
Thank you very much for joining us today. Idolish Seven" is based on an app game, and we have tried to do things that only an anime can do, while keeping the original work in mind. I would like to continue to deliver surprises to the fans through the anime! Thank you for your continued support!

<Picture of the Year Award, TV category
Do not mess with the Visual Arts Institute!
Producer, Warner Bros. Japan, LLC
Thank you very much for the prestigious award. This film is about three female high school students who take on the challenge of creating an animation. I am very happy that so many people appreciated the film, which expresses the various feelings and emotions involved in creating something, such as the conflicts and joys of making an animation. This film was created with passion by Science SARU (the production company) and the director. Everyone is also pleased with the award. Thank you very much!

VTR comment from Director Yuasa
Director Masaaki Yuasa, who directed "Don't Mess with the Film Lab! I am Masaaki Yuasa, the director of Thank you very much for giving me the "Animation of the Year Award" at the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival. Daido-san's work is very interesting. For us animation staff members, it is a great pleasure to see our images being visualized, and it was a great pleasure to see that the content of our work has become a work that the general public can enjoy. I am also very happy to receive an award like this because I think it is a great recognition for the staff and the cast. Thank you very much. I can't go to the theater today because I have to work on my next film, but please come to the theater next time and see "The King of Dogs". Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

＜Best Picture Award, Theatrical Film Category
Violet Evergarden the Movie
Representative: Shinichiro Hatta, Director/Producer, Kyoto Animation Inc.
Thank you very much for the honorable award. This film's release was postponed twice due to Corona, but with the support of the staff and fans, I am happy to receive such a wonderful award.

Competition Section Awards

■Toyoshima Ward Mayor Award: "Lammania" (Russia 2019)
(Synopsis) The protagonist is running a marathon, but that doesn't mean he can remain indifferent to others! This is a fun story about how one good thing after another happens in a city park.

■Student Award: "The Balloon Catcher" (Japan 2020)
(Synopsis) Axe Man lives in a town of balloon people. Perhaps afraid of his gleaming blade, the Axe Man is constantly watched by the Balloon Police. One day, however, a balloon man is murdered on a dark subway platform.
Director Isao Kaneko's comment: "This is a very sobering experience for me. I will continue to do my best to live up to this award!

<Short Length Competition Section
Comment: Toshiyuki Inoue, Animator
The selection process began at 8:00 p.m. and lasted for three hours, with many late-night discussions held with the international jury members during online conferences. There were 35 short films. They were all excellent works, some with classic expressions, others with the latest technology such as computer graphics, and a variety of approaches, and they all had a really high level of perfection.

■Short Film Excellence Award: "The Great Adventure of Chaume" (France/Belgium 2019)
(Synopsis) Shome, a baby owl, hatches while a storm rages in the swampy area around the tree where the nest is located. Shoom falls from the nest and quickly waddles to the mangroves, pushing the eggs that fell at the same time. Undeterred by his various predicaments, Shoom is determined to find his mother. Even if that mother is a crocodile or a raccoon!

■Short Film Grand Prix: "Coffin" (France 2020)
(Synopsis) A man wants to sleep when he gets home. Noisy roommates. A crowded city in southern China.

Director: Yuanqing Chin, Nathan Clavot, Houzhi Huang, Mikowai Yaniu, Mandimbi Le Bon, Theo Tran Ngoc VTR Comments
Hello, this is the "Coffin" production team. It is wonderful to have won the Grand Prix at the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival. Thank you very much for choosing this film. Thank you to the team and everyone who helped us. Thank you all. I also want to thank all the teachers at Gobelins. I would also like to thank my parents the most.

＜Feature Length Competition
Director Sunao Katabuchi
Animation is a complex thing that must be expressed in a single picture. That is why I think it is wonderful when a work is not only a single expression or a single picture, but also a promising work that makes you want to dig deeper and think about what is depicted beyond that. In that sense, the Grand Prix winner "Josep," which at first appeared to be an animation with few movements, is a wonderful work that expresses the fading memory of an old man very well and shows his deep feelings through its few movements. Nauer and the Magic Book" shows that the staff is working very hard to face animation in Chile, where the environment is not very conducive. I chose this film with high hopes for its future development.

■Feature Length Excellence Award: "Nahuel and the Magic Book" (Chile/Brazil 2020)
(Synopsis) Nauel lives with his father in a fishing town and is deeply afraid of the sea. One day, he finds a magic book that may solve this problem, but a dark wizard comes after the book and captures Nauel's father. A fantastic adventure to overcome his fear and rescue his father begins here and now.

■Prize for Best Feature Film, Grand Prix: "Josep" (France, Spain, Belgium 2020)
(Synopsis) In February 1939, Spanish Republicans had fled the Franco dictatorship to France. The French government built camps and confined the refugees there, where they were subjected to poor sanitary conditions and had little access to water and food. Two men become friends in the camp, separated by barbed wire. One is a French guard, the other is Josep Bartoli (Barcelona, 1910 - New York, 1995), an illustrator fighting against the Franco regime.

Director Aurel commented.
I am very moved and very happy right now. I am thrilled to receive an award from such a wonderful festival, but what is most moving to me is that this story, which took place 80 years ago in Europe, has been able to move audiences so far away in Japan. I think this is new evidence of the universality of this story. This story was written by Jean-Louis MILLESI. So I would like to share this award with the screenwriter, Jean-Louis Mérézi, the producers, and all the staff. My greatest regret is that I could not attend the award ceremony and celebrate with you. I hope to have another opportunity at the next TAAF. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I am very touched. I am very happy.

VTR comment from Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike

We received 839 entries from 60 countries and regions. I would like to express my gratitude to all the creators who, despite the difficult situation caused by the Corona disaster, have remained undaunted in their efforts to produce their works. The winners of today's awards in the merit and animation of the year categories have attracted fans from all over Japan, and those who have been inspired by their work are now active around the world. Last year (2020), the Toshima Manga Museum opened in Toshima Ward. We are truly grateful to be able to hold TAAF in Toshima Ward, the birthplace of animation. Animation is very popular overseas as well, and we hope that it will continue to develop as a unique Tokyo content in the future.
I hope that TAAF will continue to grow and develop as a unique Tokyo content in the future.

Outline of the festival
Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2021 (TAAF2021) Awards Ceremony
Date: Monday, March 15, 16:20-17:50
Place: Toshima Kumin Center 8F Multipurpose Hall