Jury Members

Art Division

  • Christophe CHARLES

    Artist / Professor, Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences, Musashino Art University

    Born in Marseille, France, 1964. While carrying out speculative research into contemporary art, CHARLES also conducts installations and concerts in both indoor and outdoor spaces pursuing the balance, independence, and interpenetration of disparate elements.

  • HACHIYA Kazuhiko

    Media Artist / Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts

    Born in Saga Prefecture in 1966. After graduating from the Faculty of Image Design at Kyushu Institute of Design (presently Kyushu University School of Design), HACHIYA worked at a consulting firm. Later, he founded PetWORKs Co., Ltd. He has served as a professor in the Department of Intermedia Art in the Faculty of Fine Art at Tokyo University of the Arts since 2010. Many of his works are functional devices, including communication tools such as Inter Dis-Communication Machine and PostPet as well as AirBoard, a skateboard with a jet engine, and OpenSky, a project to build a real-life model of the Möwe aircraft from a Japanese animated film.

  • IWASAKI Hideo

    Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University

    Born in 1971. IWASAKI is a life science researcher and formative artist. While conducting research into “the mechanism by which life spontaneously creates rhythm and form” using photosynthetic bacteria, he has also created three-dimensional works using abstract paper cutouts as well as art using living matter such as organisms and cells (bio media art). He is interested in diverse modes of representing and describing “life” such as scientific perspectives on life and how they play into cultural and everyday perspectives, along with representations of life in the arts, especially the innate resonance between referring to, experiencing, and creating life and referring to, experiencing, and creating art. He is the director of the biological/bio media art platform metaPhorest and a professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University.

  • TAKESHITA Akiko

    Performing Arts Producer, Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]

    TAKESHITA joined the staff of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] in April 2008. Since then, she has produced numerous YCAM original performances including Holistic Strata by dancer UMEDA Hiroaki (2011), LIFE—WELL by actor NOMURA Mansai, composer SAKAMOTO Ryuichi, and artist TAKATANI Shiro (2013), and Israel & Israel by Israel Galván and YCAM (2019). In addition, she has directed research and development projects pursuing new relationships between technology and the body, such as Reactor for Awareness in Motion (2010-15), and Perception Engineering (2016-17).

  • TASAKA Hiroko

    Curator of the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

    Born in Tokyo. TASAKA’s main projects include Eizo wo meguru boken vol. 5 Kiroku wa kanou ka (Quest for Vision Vol. 5 – Spelling Dystopia, 2012-13), Takatani Shiro akarui heya (Shiro Takatani: La Chambre Claire, 2013-14), Apichatpong Weerasethakul boreitachi (Apichatpong Weerasethakul: Ghosts in the Darkness, 2016-17), the Ekusupandeddo shinema saiko (Japanese Expanded Cinema Revisited) exhibition (2017), the exonemo UN-DEAD-LINK exhibition (2020), and the 2nd to 13th Yebisu International Festivals for Art & Alternative Visions (2009-21).

Art Division Selection Members

  • GOTO Akinori

    Artist and Associate Professor, Department of Visual Communication Design, Musashino Art University

  • HAGIWARA Shunya

    Web Designer and Programmer

  • HIRAHARA Makoto

    Associate Professor, Department of Art Science, Faculty of Arts, Osaka University of Arts

  • HIRAKAWA Norimichi

    Artist

  • MYOKAM Hiroko

    Curator and Researcher

  • OKADA Shima

    Associate Professor, Department of Robotics, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University

  • OKA Mizuki

    Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba

  • TAKAWO Shunsuke

    Lecturer, Department of Creative Media Studies, Faculty of Literature, Konan Women’s University

  • YUBISUI Yasuko

    Assistant Curator, NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC]

Entertainment Division

  • EGUCHI Rika

    Art Director / Artist

    Born in Hokkaido Prefecture, 1979. EGUCHI completed a master’s program in ceramic, glass, and metal work at Tama Art University in 2004, later joining Dentsu Inc. While creating commercials and graphics as an art director, she is also an artist whose works have been exhibited at art museums in Japan and abroad. She has received numerous awards including the Grand Prize at the “Hitotsubo” Exhibition, the Award for Excellence at the Exhibition of the Okamoto Taro Memorial Award for Contemporary Art, the Golden Award at the UK’s D&AD Awards, and the JAGDA New Face Award.

  • HASEGAWA Ai

    Artist

    HASEGAWA is an artist who employs techniques of bio art, speculative design, and design fiction to produce works that explore and shed light on various contemporary social problems by using the issues in biology and the advancement of technology as motifs. After graduating from the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences, she obtained a master’s degree (MA) at Royal College of Art, United Kingdom, in 2012. From 2014 to the fall of 2016, HASEGAWA worked as a researcher at the MIT Media Lab, at which she obtained a master’s degree (MS) in 2016. She has served as a project researcher at the University of Tokyo from April 2017 to March 2020. Her work, (Im)possible Baby, Case 01: Asako & Moriga, won the Excellence Award in the Art Division of the 19th Japan Media Arts Festival. She has exhibited her works in Japan and overseas, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, Mori Art Museum, Design Museum Holon in Israel, Triennale Milano, and Ars Electronica. Her published work include 20XX nen no kakumeika ni naruniwa: Supekyurativu dezain no jugyo (Revolutionary 20XX: A Speculative Design Lesson on How to Become a Revolutionary in 20XX, BNN, Inc., 2020).

  • KONISHI Toshiyuki

    Founder of POOL Inc. / Creative Director / Copywriter

    Joined Hakuhodo Inc. in 1993 after graduating from Osaka University, working for its production bureau as a copywriter. After leaving Hakuhodo in 2006, KONISHI founded POOL Inc., a company providing concept development, product development, clothing design, and IT creation. He is also involved in creative direction, copywriting, web and interactive communication development, and urban and facility development. He has received awards from numerous organizations including the Clio Awards, Art Directors Club of New York, The One Show, Tokyo Copywriters Club, and ACC Tokyo Creativity Awards. He served as a creative advisor for the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

  • SAYAWAKA

    Writer / Story Critic

    SAYAWAKA’s books on video games include Bokutachi no gemu shi (A People’s History of Video Games, Star Seas Company, 2012), Bungaku to shite no Dragon Quest (Dragon Quest as Literature, Core Magazine, 2016), and Gemu zasshi gaidobukku (Guidebook to Video Game Magazines, Sansai Books, 2019). He also authored AKB shoho to ha nan datta noka (What Was AKB’s Way of Doing Business?, Taiyohtosho, 2013), Junendai bunkaron (Culturology of the 2010s, Star Seas Company, 2014), Kyara no shikoho (Ways of Thinking About Characters, Seidosha, 2015), Bungaku no yomikata (How to Read Literature, Star Seas Company, 2016), Meitantei Conan to Heisei (Detective Conan [Case Closed] and the Heisei Period, Core Magazine, 2019), and more. He wrote the script for qtμt (Manga: FUMI Fumiko, LINE COMICS, 2017-19).

  • TOKITA Takashi

    Game Creator / Producer, Square Enix Co., Ltd.

    Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, 1966. TOKITA began creating games using pixel art during the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) era as a part-timer in theatrical activities. He worked as a planner and director, and is currently engaged in production work. TOKITA’s important work includes Final Fantasy IV (1991), Live A Live (1994), Chrono Trigger (1995), the Hanjuku eiyu (Hanjuku Hero) series, Parasite Eve (1998), and Nanashi no gemu (Nameless Game, 2008). He is currently a producer in the Second Product Development Division, Division 6 of Square Enix Co., Ltd., and an adviser at Tokyo RPG Factory Co., Ltd. TOKITA is also involved in teaching the next generation as a member of the Human Resources Development Committee of the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association.

Entertainment Division Selection Members

  • IMAI Shin

    Deputy Chief Editor of IGN JAPAN, Video Game Journalist, and Aesthetics Researcher

  • INABA Mari

    Animator and Illustrator

  • KASAI Hajime

    Mixed-Genre Writer

  • MASUDA Nobuhiro

    Lecturer, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University

  • TSUCHIYA Ryoko

    Editor and Director

  • WATANABE Daisuke

    Associate Professor, Faculty of Letters, Atomi University

Animation Division

  • FUJITSU Ryota

    Anime Critic

    Born in 1968. FUJITSU became a freelance writer after working as a newspaper reporter and weekly magazine editor. He writes for web media and anime magazines. His books include Purofuesshonaru 13nin ga kataru watashi no seiyudo (13 Professionals Discuss Their Voice-Acting Careers, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 2019), Bokura ga anime wo miru riyu (Why We Watch Anime, Film Art Inc., 2019), and Anime to senso (Anime and War, Nippon Hyoron Sha, 2021). He is also an adjunct instructor at Tokyo Polytechnic University.

  • GONDO Shunji

    Researcher of Animation History / Associate Professor, Tokyo Polytechnic University

    GONDO has been working on research on global animation after graduating from the Faculty of Letters of the University of Tokyo. In addition to writing animation-related articles for animation and film journals, he has also served as an adjunct instructor of the history of animation at Tokyo Zokei University since the 2001 academic year. His major written works include Euro Animation (coeditor, Film Art Inc., 2002), Sekai to nihon no animeshon besuto 150 (Best 150 World and Japanese Animation Films Selected by Professionals, supervising editor, Fusion Product, 2003), and Itaria animeshon no sekai (The World of Italian Animation, content contributor, PetitGlam Publishing, 2004).

  • MIZUSAKI Jumpei

    Animation Director / CEO, Kamikaze Douga

    MIZUSAKI specializes in a wide range of preprocessing work including planning, directing, and designing, and works mainly on music videos, the opening sequences of video games and animation, and feature-length films. His recent activities include directing the main episode of SOUND & FURY, the visual album of Grammy-winning artist Sturgill SIMPSON; inventing a media style for switching smartphone images between portrait and landscape view to add a layer of animation to the music video for Tokyo Jihen’s single Nodoteki sampunkan (3min); and other efforts to continually expand the possibilities of video. His motto is “Compromise is death.” His directorial works include the feature-length film Batman Ninja (2018) and the music video Togemeku Spica (2019) on NHK’s Minna no Uta.

  • OYAMA Kei

    Producer / CEO, CALF Co., Ltd.

    Born in Tokyo, 1978. OYAMA studied videography at Image Forum and graduated from Tokyo Zokei University. His graduation work, Shinsatsushitsu (Consultation Room), won the Grand Prize in the Campus Genius Contest and earned a Jury Selection at the 9th Japan Media Arts Festival. It was screened during the Directors’ Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival and many other international film festivals. In 2009, his animated short film HAND SOAP earned many awards—including the Grand Prix at the Holland Animation Film Festival, the Prize of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Special Prize at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, and also a Jury Selection at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival. He is a full-time lecturer at Image Forum and representative director of CALF Co., Ltd.

  • SUGAWA Akiko

    Professor, Institute of Urban Innovation, Yokohama National University

    SUGAWA completed her Ph.D. in the Department of Film and Television Studies at the Graduate School of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. Her focus of study was animation, 2.5D theater and other elements of popular culture theory, as well as audience and fan research. She is the chair of the Japan Society for Animation Studies. Her research focuses on audiences and representations of young girls in television animation in terms of gender. Recently, she has been engaged in researching female fans in 2.5D culture. Author of Shojo to maho: Garu hiro wa ikani juyo saretanoka (Girls and Magic: How Have Girl Heroes Been Accepted?, NTT Publishing, 2013), she received the 2014 Japan Society for Animation Studies Award. Co-author of works such as Japanese Animation: East Asian Perspectives (co-authored, University Press of Mississippi, 2013), Teaching Japanese Popular Culture (co-authored, AAS, 2016), Shōjo Across Media (co-authored, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), and Women’s Manga in Asia and Beyond (co-authored, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). Co-editor of works such as Anime kenkyu nyumon: Oyohen (Introduction to Animation Studies: Practical Version, Gendai Shokan, 2018) and Animeshon bunka 55 no kiwado (55 Keywords of Animation Culture, Minerva Shobo, 2019).

Animation Division Selection Members

  • AOYAGI Mihoko

    Writer

  • HAGIHARA Yukari

    Lecturer, Department of Japanese Culture, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Teikyo University

  • Onohana

    Animated Short Film Creator, Painter, and Senior Partner at UchuPeople LLC

  • TAKASE Koji

    Animation Researcher and Critic

  • TANIGUCHI Riuichi

    Writer and Book Critic

  • UEKUSA Wataru

    Illustrator and Animator

Manga Division

  • Jessica BAUWENS-SUGIMOTO

    Associate Professor, Department of Intercultural Communication, Faculty of International Studies, Ryukoku University

    Specializes in sociology, cultural anthropology, and cultural studies. BAUWENS-SUGIMOTO came to Japan in 1997 as a Japanese-government-sponsored MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) Scholarship student and entered Osaka University Graduate School of Human Sciences in 1999. She became a researcher at the 21st Century Center of Excellence Program in 2002 and an assistant professor in the Faculty of Manga at Kyoto Seika University in 2006. In 2007, she completed her Ph.D. She became a researcher at Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center in 2011, junior associate professor at Ryukoku University Department of Intercultural Communication in 2014, and associate professor at Ryukoku University Faculty of International Studies in 2017.

  • KURATA Yoshimi

    Manga Artist / Professor, Otemae University

    Born in Akita City, 1954. KURATA studied under CHIBA Tetsuya after graduating from high school. After working as an assistant for five and a half years, he struck out on his own. He won the 4th Shogakukan New Face Comic Award and made his debut with the prize-winning Moeizuru… (Start Sprouting…). KURATA won the 44th Shogakukan Manga Award in 1999 for Aji ichi monme (A Pinch of Seasoning), which he’d begun drawing in 1984. His Aji ichi monme series is currently ongoing. KURATA began teaching at Otemae University in 2009. He presently holds workshops in Japan and throughout the world, including China, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Paris, Seattle, Mongolia, and Ukraine. He is a member of Manga Japan, and a director of the Japan Cartoonists Association. He has served as a judge for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan International Manga Award, the Japan Cartoonists Association Manga Award, the Golden Dragon Award in Guangzhou, China, the Malaysian New Face Comic Award, and more.

  • OZAWA Yuki

    Manga Artist

    Began submitting to girls’ manga magazines as a junior high school student and made her debut in the Shueisha girls’ manga magazine Bouquet in her first year of senior high school. In 2012, she won the New Face Award in the Manga Division of the 16th Japan Media Arts Festival for Kori no te siberia yokuryuki (Frozen Hands: Tales of a Siberian Prison Camp Survivor), a manga based on her father’s experience in a Siberian internment camp. In 2015, she won the Grand Prize at the 44th Annual Japan Cartoonists Association Awards for Kori no te siberia yokuryuki and Atokata no machi (City of Traces), a manga based on her mother’s wartime experiences. In 2018, her manga Sanju Mariko (Mariko at 80) serialized in the Kodansha magazine BE LOVE won Best General Manga at the 42nd Annual Kodansha Manga Awards.

  • SAITO Tamaki

    Psychiatrist / Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba / Critic

    Born in Iwate Prefecture, 1961. SAITO completed his Ph.D. in medicine at the University of Tsukuba, and currently serves as a professor of social psychiatry and mental health in the Faculty of Medicine at the university. He specializes in the psychopathology of puberty and adolescence, and the treatment of as well as support and education surrounding the hikikomori problem. He has extensive knowledge of manga, film, and general subcultures and has written a wide range of books ranging from paperbacks to full-blown art and literary criticism. His collaboration with contemporary artist KAIHATSU Yoshiaki, titled Otaku Room, was featured as part of the OTAKU: persona = space = city exhibition at the Japan Pavilion in the Venice Biennale: International Architecture Exhibition in 2004. His published works include Beautiful Fighting Girl (University of Minnesota Press, 2011), Sekai ga doyo no yoru no yume nara: Yanki to seishin bunseki (If the World Were a Saturday Night’s Dream: Yankees and Psychoanalysis, Kadokawa Shoten, 2012), which won the Kadokawa Foundation Art and Science Award, and Kokoro wo yandara ikenai no? Utsubyo shakai no shohosen (Is It Wrong to Be Mentally Ill? A Prescription for a Depressed Society, coauthored with YONAHA Jun, Shinchosha, 2020), which won the Kobayashi Hideo Prize.

  • SHIMAMOTO Kazuhiko

    Manga Artist / CEO, Aibic Co., Ltd.

    Born in Hokkaido Prefecture, and lives in the city of Sapporo. His real name is TEZUKA Hidehiko. He debuted in 1982 with Hissatsu no tenkosei (Killer Transfer Student), and his most important works include Blazing Transfer Student (1983-85), Gyakkyo nain (Nine in Adversity, 1989-91), Moeyo pen (Burn, Pen, 1990-91), Hoero pen (the Roar, Pen series, 2000-10), Chokyuu! Kido buto den G gundam (Heavyweight Mechanical Militant Legend G Gundam, 2010-16), and Anime tencho (Animation Store Manager, 2000-). His ongoing serial manga include Aoi honoo (Blue Blaze, 2007-) and Hero Company (2011-). Aoi honoo won an Award in the General category at the 60th Shogakukan Manga Awards, and the Excellence Award in the Manga Division at the 18th Japan Media Arts Festival. He presently serves as the president and representative director of Aibic Co., Ltd.

Manga Division Selection Members

  • HIDAKA Toshiyasu

    Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kumamoto University

  • INOMATA Noriko

    Associate Professor, Ibaraki University

  • ITO Yu

    Associate Professor, Kyoto Seika University

  • KANNO Hiroshi

    Manga Artist and Professor, Kobe Design University

  • KUBO Naoko

    Lecturer, Department of Fine Arts, Hijiyama University Junior College

  • NAGAIKE Kazumi

    Professor, Oita University Institute for Global Education and Advanced Research

  • TAMAGAWA Hiroaki

    Researcher of Media

  • TOYODA Yumetaro

    Manga Editor

  • YOKOI Shuko

    Manga Writer and Researcher