[Critique by work category] Full-length Animation

We evaluated 60 TV/OVAs, 24 theatrical films, and 10 others as full-length works, though they were mainly works for commercial use, except for the short ones. Among theatrical films, there were some large-scale works created by using lots of time, money, and talent, all of which were technically of the highest quality. It is nice to know that we can now produce a number of high quality films domestically in just one year.
As OVAs are essentially commercial products, priority is placed on the creation of good sellers. Consequently, workmanship is stable and images are pleasing. However, most of them were all alike in using beautiful girls, and there was no prominently outstanding work this year. As many of them were part of a video series, it was undeniable that their contents, as part of a series, were not as substantial as an independent work. Technically, there were some works that attempted technical challenges that could be undertaken only with videos, but not with TV works where work time is fairly restricted. They were all successful, at least technically.
The largest number of entries was in the category of TV series. However, it is difficult to make a fair evaluation of these works unless the entire series was available. Despite that, there were two pieces that fared relatively well and remained in the final review: One that was simply enjoyable as animation, and the other that maintained high quality all through the series.
Lastly, it should be noted that there was an educational video that despite a low budget, achieved its purpose owing to the staff's concerted efforts. Although this work was not selected as a prizewinner, we enjoyed watching it through to the end.