10th
Award-winning WorksAnimation Division

I was able to see many works of short animation this year as in the past. Since we received more entries than last year, I attended the first round in high spirits. In spite of the large number of the entries, the selection went unexpectedly smoothly. Honestly speaking, the works in the short animation genre were not competitive, but those in long animation, TV and OVA (Original Video Animation)were more radical. However, a surprising result came after the final screening. All the prizes except for the Grand Prize went to the works in short animation! Short animation is exciting, because each element, such as conception, idea, esthetic sense, skill and presentation, is characterized by uniqueness and filled with unknown pleasure. As for this year's short animation, except for a few entries, there were fewer works that generated the artists' deep passions and obsessions than last year. We under take this aggressive screening where works are selected in the same arena regardless of the differences in their forms in long, short , TV and OVA animation categories . We wrestle with watching a few hundred films, followed by long and thorough discussions. We do all this simply because it is a joy to discover a talented new creator with potential in animation. This is the ultimate reason!
Congratulations to all award-winners! I also wish future success for all those who were recommended by the judging committee. I deeply appreciate the many artists who submitted their works. And, I look forward to receiving the next round of works from all of you.

When I first glanced through all of the entries, I was surprised at the high level of graphic rendering. Of course, they have been carefully selected, but even so, the quality is very high in all the works.
Even among the films for TV series, which were probably produced under severe circumstances, many are competitive against long animations. Digitalization has almost come to completion. Due to the result of advanced infrastructure, or an improvement in staff ' s competence, the difference in quality, often seen in the past, has almost disappeared. This is a remarkable result in the field of "trade and industry." On the other hand, how can I view this from the perspective of "culture"? Because of extremely specific stories and character settings, don't too many works fall into an entire focus on their story lines?
As for a visual-pursuit point of view, don't the artists neglect providing a direction that gives a framework to the entire work and conveys emotions to the audience? While animation has reached full maturity, I also feel a sense of stagnation.
The criteria set by the audience is getting higher every year. With all the positive conditions in front of us, we must nail down a goal and achieve it. Let's go for it!

The screening was enjoyable because we received a large number of entries with a variety of content reflecting the current situation in animation. The works varied from those of a commercial level to long features for theater showing. It was a plus to realize that animation is about to grow out of the experimental stage of digital technology. However, one negative effect could be that the works showed poor quality in story creation and composition, both indispensable for film making. Even for the production of animation, a theatrical sense is essential. I must stress that concept is essential. Seen in that light, this year's selections include factors that I could not affirm entirely; however, there was the issue of the contemporary aspect being more critical. Especially among the commercially based works, we occasionally came across a weakness in literary quality and theatrical composition. I hope that everyone will rise to a point where they feel that "we must aim for theatrical quality."