22nd
Award-winning WorksEntertainment Division

Works of Entertainment Division take many forms. This explains why so much of entertainment is work that does not fit neatly in other categories, leading to interdisci- plinary chaos. Our policy in judging such a mixed set of works was to judge two specific elements--the intention to entertain the audience and the work in terms of artistic expression. We also focused on originality in terms of the technical approach. Works in which technology is gener- ously used to create incredible results that the viewer does not consciously recognize resonated particularly strongly.This year's Grand Prize-winner, Chico Will Scold You! utilizes computer-graphics technology in a natural way to create a charming character and quality entertainment that is well-suited to a such a broadly popular medium as television broadcasting. Characters with exaggeratedly large heads are often adopted in Japan as an expression of cuteness, but here the technique is transformed with computer-graphics technology, making the character life-size and giving it a novel charm. The show's catch- phrase, "Don't sleep through life!" was nominated for the Buzzword Awards, and the reruns drew an even larger audience that the original broadcast, indicating that the medium of television is not over.Similarly, LINNÉ LENS utilizes AI as technology that goes unnoticed by the user to comfortably revolutionize the way the aquarium and zoo are viewed. Thanks to en- hanced information terminal technology, parts of the app function even without a server connection, implying that as long as technology continues to advance there will be no end of new possibilities for media art. By contrast, the incredible impact of a brute force approach to pre- sentation that is obvious to any viewer is also genuinely impressive. Perfume x Technology presents "Reframe" takes a bold, unpolished approach to create a world all its own, using projection mapping to cast shadows onto panels that move and shift. It may be that no group other than Perfume could pull this off, and that in itself makes this impressive work worth watching.Entries in the Entertainment Division fall into six different categories, through many of the works fall into more than one or alternatively do not fit neatly into any one category. KABUKI-CHO DETECTIVE SEVEN is a type of alternative reality game. However, the underlying concept of effectively using a theatrical style and actual real estate to allow the player to wander the streets of Kabuki-cho corresponds with artistic techniques of representation of space. This is the type of work that I imagine leaves the creator wondering which category to submit in. However, we must provide a framework that can properly evaluate any work that falls within the scope of entertainment, and I welcome con- troversial works that would cause problems for us as jury members.Another work that the jury discussed at great length was TikTok, which was submitted in the app category and not created purely for the purpose of entertainment. Rather, it represents a movement that was quite notable this year, one in where the participants themselves func- tion as content and the entertainment includes that of community. Ultimately, the jury decided that, even when new media is not in itself art, the Japan Media Arts Fes- tival should recognize and promote formats that create cultural scenes that can be used as tools to create enter- tainment art. The creation of new media in the future is indeed something to look forward to.The New Face Awards greatly value the vision of young artists. The potential for future growth from these young artists is clear in work that, though perhaps technically unpolished, is brimming with love of their craft. Live-action is submitted in the video works category, and the artistic vision in two short films was particularly compelling. With its mysterious costumes and non-computer graphic style, WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA, "The Bamboo Princess" evokes the beauty that is possible when an artist does the most with what is within their means. In Spring, the audi- ence is captivated by the realism of the story and the raw performance of the actor playing the grandfather charac- ter.The festival is sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, and the works focused on Japanese culture created by non-Japanese artists were highly appreciated, not least because they offer guid- ance about submissions in the future. The creator of Pixel Ripped 1989 is a Brazilian woman whose work feels like a tribute to 1980s Japanese video games. Using virtual reality and other elements, she has created a cohesive work that does not feel at all dated, but rather creates a system that seems natural for the present day. Dressed in the cosplay of a game character to promote her work, the artist by all appearances loves not only Japanese games, but Japanese pop culture in its entirety.

It seems to me that the season of enjoying technology for technology's sake has passed. It is now work in which technology blends naturally with stories and real life that grabs center stage. It is when the seams and bindings of technology are invisible that the viewer has a sense of immersion. Whether the artist has the skills and the ideas to connect contiguously with daily life is the focus.In a curious coincidence, this shift comes at the same time as the Heisei era ends, and it seems to me that submitting artists are feeling freer to express them- selves. An app like TikTok regards video as a mode of communication. The message is ephemeral, without the inherent and lasting social commentary seen in video works submitted in the past. This turning point is some- thing that, as jurists for the Japan Media Arts Festival, we could not ignore. It is also notable that a television show like Chiko Will Scold You! was selected as the Grand Prize winner. It was precisely because of the seamless, invisible use of technology mentioned above that the character's behavior is so charming and the show's approach feels so modern. The piece by Per- fume and the production team, a regular Japan Media Arts Festival entrant, is a special case. This piece easily could have been a candidate for the Grand Prize if it had been their first submission. I admire how stoically the group continues to update their work even while bask- ing in attention both in Japan and overseas. The piece functions well as entertainment without crossing too far into art. Neither is it merely coincidence that LINNÉ LENS and KABUKI-CHO DETECTIVE SEVEN, at oppo- site ends of the digital-analog spectrum in multimedia production, were both selected for Excellence Awards in the same year. The ingenuity we saw this year in terms of software was inevitable. Works chosen for the Jury Selection focused on offering new perspectives and creating texture. All of these works were captivat- ing and unique and left one wanting to see what comes next.I hope that the Japan Media Arts Festival continues to function as a gateway or showcase of media arts for you, the reader of these comments, and for myself, as viewer and jury.

It seems to me that the season of enjoying technology for technology's sake has passed. It is now work in which technology blends naturally with stories and real life that grabs center stage. It is when the seams and bindings of technology are invisible that the viewer has a sense of immersion. Whether the artist has the skills and the ideas to connect contiguously with daily life is the focus.In a curious coincidence, this shift comes at the same time as the Heisei era ends, and it seems to me that submitting artists are feeling freer to express them- selves. An app like TikTok regards video as a mode of communication. The message is ephemeral, without the inherent and lasting social commentary seen in video works submitted in the past. This turning point is some- thing that, as jurists for the Japan Media Arts Festival, we could not ignore. It is also notable that a television show like Chiko Will Scold You! was selected as the Grand Prize winner. It was precisely because of the seamless, invisible use of technology mentioned above that the character's behavior is so charming and the show's approach feels so modern. The piece by Per- fume and the production team, a regular Japan Media Arts Festival entrant, is a special case. This piece easily could have been a candidate for the Grand Prize if it had been their first submission. I admire how stoically the group continues to update their work even while bask- ing in attention both in Japan and overseas. The piece functions well as entertainment without crossing too far into art. Neither is it merely coincidence that LINNÉ LENS and KABUKI-CHO DETECTIVE SEVEN, at oppo- site ends of the digital-analog spectrum in multimedia production, were both selected for Excellence Awards in the same year. The ingenuity we saw this year in terms of software was inevitable. Works chosen for the Jury Selection focused on offering new perspectives and creating texture. All of these works were captivat- ing and unique and left one wanting to see what comes next.I hope that the Japan Media Arts Festival continues to function as a gateway or showcase of media arts for you, the reader of these comments, and for myself, as viewer and jury.

As infrastructure and gadgets have changed, media too has changed and evolved. It continues to be said that expression in media, especially in terms of the role of art, lies in exploring the potential of the medium and ways of pushing it to evolve. The distinction between art and entertainment has become increasingly ambigu- ous, leading us to speak of art, as well, in commercial terms. This is also evident in this year's Entertainment Division award winners, which show signs that the surge of media advancements is levelling off. It is not that the audience is too immersed in digital or that they have forgotten about the medium of television. They crave a physical experience, a viewing experience. Past predic- tions that media would "disappear" and that all would be "consolidated" in virtual space have not played out. Instead, before we knew it, media that has gradually evolved over decades and media born of recent ad- vancements in device tech had come to be seen on equal terms. We are now in an age when these different types of media are being mixed. This implies that media lumped under the buzzword "technology" and consid- ered unpredictable is now seen as neutral and as a tool for the creator. Unlike art, entertainment is something meant for all people and presented in a ready-to-use form. This is a form that encourages easy absorption of complexities and context with the premise that enter- tainment equals fun. Rather than merely focusing on the novelty of recent technology, the backcasting approach asks what technology artists need to express what they want to express and what technology consumers and markets are looking for. Media merging with entertain- ment is indeed a massive step forward. Now, when the relationship between artist and consumer is closer than ever and more and more people are able to express themselves through media, how will entertainment evolve from here? Predictions are difficult, but I think that people will increasingly seek out experiences in the future. It is natural for human beings to seek experience that creates personal memories, and I can't help but feel that technology will make those experiences even stronger and transform them into something new.

I cannot help but say it was unfortunate that Chico Will Scold You! won the Grand Prize.I agree that, together with TikTok, which won an Ex- cellence Award, Chico Will Scold You! ranks right up there with the Grand Prize winners of past years in the way it reflects the issues of the day and its popularity.Chico Will Scold You! is content from one of the most successful VTubers, created by experienced TV professionals for TV viewers at home, while using cutting-edge video technology to track the movements of the costumed Chico and match the character's ex- pressions with computer graphics. TikTok is an unusual communication platform that uses the skillful designs of the short video community, which are perfect for the smart phone environment, to make it even easier for amateurs to share. This platform has created a teen culture that adults could not even have imagined.The final jury session really struggled to decide which of these works--which are perfect contrasts to each other--to recommend for the Grand Prize.My belief is that if the Japan Media Arts Festival val- ues moves toward our future, then TikTok should have been given the Grand Prize. However, the imagination that Chico's creators poured into it is easier to under- stand compared to TikTok, a Chinese app that was localized for Japan. The majority view among the judges that a win would be really significant support for the creators could not be overturned. I had to accept that this conclusion makes sense given the institution of the Japan Media Arts Festival itself. I also have to admit to my own inability to advocate for the TikTok movement actively enough since I'm not involved in it myself (I'm just a man in my mid-40s after all...).That said, I cannot help but find the basic setting of the show to be obnoxious. Here we have NHK introduc- ing a commercial variety show of the kind we used to see on Fuji Television at the end of the Showa period (1980s), with a veteran entertainer using the character of an all-knowing five-year-old girl to mess around with the guests with idiotic banter. Chico's gestures when she insists on a definite answer to the "simple trivia questions that any adult should know," while the TV show takes an out by insisting that "there are various theories," are also cunning. The structure of this show has the same bad habits that became problems count- less times in television entertainment during the Heisei era: one misstep on the part of a guest creates an at- mosphere that encourages bullying, and the skewed theories presented spread disinformation.Of course, if we look at it another way, we could say that NHK learned from the mistakes of these com- mercial variety shoes and it is the skillfulness of Chico Will Scold You! that allows NHK to just barely avoid (at this point) making these mistakes by using NHK's production environment and a high-tech character as intermediaries. As a result, the disrespect that I noted above just becomes a reason for awarding the prize. I really regret that, having realized this, I did not fight my own case more with the other jurors.However, I believe that Chico Will Scold You! is the perfect symbol of the limits of Neoteny Japan, which can only use new technology efficiently as an exten- sion of the Showa period's old system. So many people in the media abuse ordinary Japanese people, yelling "Don't sleep through life!" at them. But what the me- dia is really doing is covering over the obvious political and economic mistakes made after the Cold War, while pretending that only they are like innocent children and shutting out the easily twisted "right answer."I want to emphasize that this Grand Prize went to the most ironic self-portrait imaginable of Japan's fall in the Heisei period.If there is any hope, it is that a New Face Award went to Pixel Ripped 1989, an indie VR work that imagina- tively updates through the power of games in the world in the first year of Japan's Heisei period.I can only hope that in the next era we will see a true cultural maturation and the start of a restoration that confronts the inevitable decline and addresses it with effective technology.