Anime Japan 2019] Here are the animation projects that will lead the next generation! Project ANIMA" 3rd "Kids Game Anime Category" Grand Prize Award Ceremony Report

On Saturday, March 23, 2019, the third "Project ANIMA" Grand Prize Award Ceremony for the "Kids' Game Anime Division" was held on the KILLER PINK Stage at Anime Japan 2019 at Tokyo Big Sight.

Project ANIMA" is an unusual project that allows any team, whether professional or amateur, individual, unit, or company, to participate in any format, from manga, novels, and illustrations to proposals. The grand prize-winning work will receive a prize of 1 million yen and will also be made into an animated film. In addition, the winning entry will be considered for development in a variety of media, including books, manga, and games.

⇒ Project ANIMATION" is a dream project that will be developed in a variety of media including books, manga, and games. The third deadline for "Project ANIMA," a project to recruit animation artists, is just around the corner, and we asked Mr. Rensuke Oshikiri about the key points in creating works! (Part 1)
⇒What genre of manga does Rensuke Oshikiri want to draw next?　Special interview with Rensuke Oshikiri, just before the deadline for the third round of "Project ANIMA", a project to recruit animation artists! (Part 2)

The awards for the first round "Science Fiction/Robot Animation Division" and the second round "Otherworldly/Fantasy Division" have already been announced, and the contest itself will end with the "Kids/Game Animation Division" this time.

On stage were Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Mikako Komatsu, and Eri Mikami, who also appear in the radio program "Toyonaga, Komatsu, Mikami no Midnight Radio Literature Club," as well as Yusuke Uemachi, general producer of "ProjectANIMA," and Takeshi Hiramatsu of the animation production company, Animation Studio.

Ms. Toyonaga, Ms. Komatsu, and Ms. Mikami appeared first. Animation Studio Animation Studio, which belongs to Mr. Takeshi Hiramatsu, a member of this year's judging panel, is the animation studio that produced Ms. Mikami's masterpiece "YuruYuri. Because of this, Mr. Mikami was somewhat excited, saying, "It's like a reunion.

Then, Mr. Uemachi and Mr. Hiramatsu also took the stage and gave their overall comments.

Mr. Uemachi commented on his impression of the third contest, "I have the impression that it has been considerably finished, and it has become a rare contest in which the creators have grown from the first to the third round. Mr. Hiramatsu commented, "There were not as many kids' games as there should have been. Among them, there were some that could be developed into games, so we spent several hours in a heated selection process." Mr. Uemachi revealed that there was an emotional scene in which a strong-looking boss was moved to tears at the end of the contest.

The deciding factor in the selection process was the "suitability for animation. The selection was not based on the quality of the work or the strength of the writing, but rather on "the work's appeal to the emotions of the judges.

The work that passed such a heated selection process and was awarded the Grand Prize. The work that passed the hotly contested selection process and was selected to be adapted into an animation was "Mobius Dust" by Hajime Shinagawa. Mr. Shinagawa took the stage and was presented with a plaque and prize money. The story is a hard science fiction action piece, but Mr. Shinagawa is a woman, which was a surprise to Mr. Toyonaga, Ms. Komatsu, Ms. Mikami, and others.

The synopsis of "Mobius Dust" is as follows.

On February 29, 2000, the Mobius meteorite swarm hit the earth. The meteorites brought a new substance called Mobius Dust to the earth. It dissolved into the earth's atmosphere and caused a miracle. The day of the meteorite shower is commonly known as 2.29. After this day, the economic disparity in Japan accelerated. Soon, the Blood League, dissatisfied with the disparity, begins terrorist activities. Under such circumstances, the police set up the RC Special Task Force and the Comprehensive School for the Training of RC Unit Members for the early training of its members.

After reading this synopsis again, Mr. Komatsu expressed his expectations for the anime adaptation, saying, "I have the impression that Animation Studio is known for loose, everyday stories, so I wonder how they will portray this work.

In response, Mr. Hiramatsu commented, "I thought about how it would look on screen, including in a game version. I think we can bring out the charm of the action scenes. Mr. Uemachi commented, "I think there will be an anime, and maybe even a movie version. If anything, I think there will be merchandise on store shelves. This work gives me a sense of various possibilities. There is a gap in the work that is not typical of the Video Studio, and I am looking forward to seeing what kind of good work it will become.

Mobius dust" is a "miraculous substance" contained in a meteorite that flew to earth, which can repair and regenerate a missing body part. The parts of the body can be transformed at will and become "rams" with special abilities, so Mr. Toyonaga immediately proposed the idea of "how about a product in which rams come out from inside a meteorite-shaped capsule? Toyonaga immediately enlivened the stage by proposing the idea of "how about a product in which Rams comes out of a meteorite-shaped capsule?

As in the previous two contests, Ms. Toyonaga and the other voice actors participated in the contest this time as well. They submitted their original projects. In the past, the voice actors' proposals were not selected, but this time, "Fuai & Nansu," a proposal about money by SWAT, a unit of Mr. Toyonaga and Masaru Suwa, a writer for "Toyonaga, Komatsu and Mikami's Midnight Radio Literature Club," was selected as an honorable mention. (Unfortunately, "Edomajo Majolica" by "Mitsukoshi," a unit of Mr. Komatsu and Ms. Mikami, was not selected.)

Mr. Hiramatsu said, "The impact was so strong that the president of the company was wondering if we could make a short film about it. In terms of how to develop the product, it would have been nice to have a character personifying the currency or something like that," he advised. Maybe there is a chance for an animated short! Toyonaga-san was suddenly excited.

In closing, Mr. Uemachi said, "This is the end of the contest, but I hope that the other winners will also become active in the animation industry, and I would like to make this a project that can improve the animation industry by working closely with them. It was also announced that Toyonaga and the other voice actors would report on the progress of the anime in the "Toyonaga, Komatsu, Mikami no Midnight Radio Literature Club" program.

Finally, Mikami-san said, "From now on, I want to get a job as a voice actor! and expressed her strong desire to appear in "Project ANIMA" productions.