Mainichi Film Award

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The Mainichi Film Awards are a series of annual animation awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since the end of the World War II.

Following the death of pioneering animator Ōfuji Noburō (大藤信郎) in 1961, Mainichi established a new Ōfuji Noburō Award in his honour to recognise animation excellence. A specialist in silhouette animation, Ōfuji was one of the earliest Japanese animators to gain international recognition, winning accolades at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival and the 1956 Venice Film Festival. This award has been first presented in 1962 for "Tale of a Street Corner" (ある街角の物語 Aru Machi Kado no Monogatari) by Tezuka Osamu.

With the growth of the animation industry in Japan, the award in the 80s came to be dominated by big budget studio productions, over the work of the independent animators for recognition of whom's efforts it was originally established. To address this concern, the Animation Grand Award was established to reward large scale cinematic animation, enabling the Ōfuji award to focus on shorter pieces again. This award has been first presented in 1989 for "Kiki's Delivery Service" (魔女の宅急便 Majo no Takkyūbin) by Hayao Miyazaki.

It's worth noting that the award encompasses a much wider variety of animation than many western anime fans would consider. Two of the most frequent winners over the years Okamoto Tadanari (岡本忠成) and Kawamoto Kihachirō (川本喜八郎) specialize mainly in stop motion rather than cell animation. Also, as well as being an adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel, The Old Man and the Sea is the work of Russian animator Alexander Petrov.

[edit] Recent winners

1995

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Memories" (「MEMORIES」大友克洋) by Katsuhiro Ōtomo
Animation Grand Award: "Junkers Come Here" (ユンカース・カム・ヒア)

1996

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Rusuban"(るすばん) by N&G Production
Animation Grand Award: "Black Jack" (ブラック・ジャック)

1997

Animation Grand Award: "Princess Mononoke" (もののけ姫 Mononoke Hime) by Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli

1998

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Mizu no Sei Kappa Hyakuzu" (水の精河童百図) by Shirokumi
Animation Grand Award: "Doraemon: Nobita no Nankai Dai Bōken" (ドラえもん　のび太の南海大冒険)

1999

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Rōjin to Umi - The Old Man and the Sea" (「老人と海」アレクサンドル・ペトロフと技術スタッフ) by Alexander Petrov
Animation Grand Award: "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade" (人狼) by Production I.G

2000

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Blood: The Last Vampire" by Production I.G
Animation Grand Award: Doraemon: Obaa-san no Omoide" (ドラえもん　おばあちゃんの思い出)

2001

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Kujira Tori" (くじらとり) by Studio Ghibli
Animation Grand Award: "Spirited Away" (千と千尋の神隠し Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) by Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli

2002

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Millennium Actress" (千年女優 Sennen Joyū) by Satoshi Kon
Animation Grand Award: "Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi o Yobu Appare! Sengoku Dai Kassen" (クレヨンしんちゃん　嵐を呼ぶアッパレ!戦国大合戦)

2003

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Winter Days" (冬の日 Fuyu no Hi)
Animation Grand Award: "Tokyo Godfathers" (東京ゴッドファーザーズ) by Satoshi Kon

2004

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "Mind Game" (マインド・ゲーム)
Animation Grand Award: "The Place Promised in Our Early Days" (雲のむこう、約束の場所 Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho) by Makoto Shinkai

2005

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "tough guy!" by Kishimoto Shintarō
Animation Grand Award: "Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa" (劇場版　鋼の錬金術師　シャンバラを征く者 Gekijōban Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Shanbara o Yuku Mono) by Seiji Mizushima

2006

Ōfuji Noburō Award: "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" by Tsutsui Yasutaka
Animation Grand Award: "Tekkon Kinkreet" (鉄コン筋クリート Tekkon Kinkreet) by Michael Arias