Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year

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Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year

Awarded for	Excellence in animation films of Japan
Presented by	The Nippon Academy-sho association
Country	Japan
First awarded	2007

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The Animation of the Year (アニメーション作品賞, Animation of the Year^?) of the Japan Academy Prize is one of the annual Awards given by the Nippon Academy-sho association (Japan Academy Prize Association).

Although the Japan Academy Prize have been awarded annually since 1978 to Japanese films, animation films - or anime films - have been disregarded. Animation films have included top grossing Japanese films of the year, such as Doraemon (1981)^[1] and Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)^[2], Only Yesterday (1991)^[3], Porco Rosso (1992)^[4], Pom Poko (1994)^[5] and Whisper of the Heart (1995)^[6]. No animation film has ever received a nomination for a Japan Academy Prize. This is notably different from other major Japanese film awards, such as the Mainichi Film Award and Kinema Junpo, which have both awarded Picture of the Year to My Neighbor Totoro in 1988.

In 1990, the Japan Academy Prize Association gave a Special Award to Kiki's Delivery Service at the 13th the Japan Academy Prize^[7], and again in 1995 to Takahata's Pom Poko. However, there was still no nomination for these animated box-office hits.

But in 1998, the Japan Academy Prize Association could no longer disregard animation films with the hugely successful Princess Mononoke, the highest box-office record ever in the history of Japanese cinema, which dominated the other major film prizes (See: Awards). As a result, at the 21st Japan Academy Prize that year, Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke became the first-ever animation film to be nominated for and win the Japan Academy Prize 'Picture of the Year'. Yoshiyuki Tomino, famed for Gundam, mentioned it: "A hole that Hayao Miyazaki made spending ten years".^[8]

In 2002, at the 25th Japan Academy Prize, another animation film by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away, was again nominated and won the 'Picture of the Year'.

In 2007, the Japan Academy Prize followed the original Academy Awards for creating the award category the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002, and created the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. After all, two animation films have already won Picture of the Year. Only one film is awarded Best Animation of the Year (最優秀アニメーション作品賞, Best Animation of the Year^?), however, all five nominees are recognized by the association by the awarding of Excellent Animation of the Year (優秀アニメーション作品, Excellent Animation of the Year^?)'.^[9]