Aspiring Animators Honored at AnimeJapan's Emerging Creator Awards Ceremony
by Ken Iikura-Gross,
AnimeJapan is not well known for its awards, but runs the annual “Manga We Want to See Animated” fan poll. However, in 2026, the yearly anime event announced the new Emerging Creator Awards in partnership with the Japanese government's Japan Creator Support Fund and with Crunchyroll sponsoring. The award seeks to find new talent and aspiring animators across trade schools and universities in Japan. And the inaugural Emerging Creator Awards saw entries from over 50 institutions, of which 13 were selected as the finalists.
ANN was invited to the Emerging Creator Awards ceremony at AnimeJapan 2026 on March 28 to get a first look at burgeoning talent entering the industry.
The Emerging Creator Awards ceremony featured Yuichiro Hayashi (director, Dorohedoro, Kakegurui) as Head of the Judging Committee, Asa Suehira (Crunchyroll Chief Content Officer), producers Yūma Takahashi, Shinpei Yamashita, Katsuhiro Takei, and Naohiro Ogata, and Sakurazaka46 members Rina Matsuda, Hikaru Morita, Airi Taniguchi, Yuzuki Nakashima, and Mio Matono.
“I rarely get the chance to see works made by students, but seeing these works, I saw what you might call raw animation, still a bit rough around the edges, and the creator's personal touch,” Hayashi said.
Suehira offered similar comments, stating, “The entries we received were of such a high caliber and so unique, and we truly enjoyed reviewing them.”
The ceremony began with four technical categories: Best Technical Award, Best Director Award, Best Character Award, and Best Design Award. Each winner received 300,000 yen (about US$2,000) in prize money.
Presenting the Best Technical Award was Takahashi to Kyoto Seika University's Leow Yi Jing for “Offbeat”. Takahashi noted the committee selected the work for its technical skills, including direction, layouts, key art, and finishing. The producer also said, “It's a work that makes us think professionals made it.”
“It took us four months to create, and we're honored to receive the award,” stated Leow Yi Jing.
The Best Director Award was presented by Yamashita to Kyoto Seika University student Wang Xinyue for “Eiya no Requiem.” Yamashita stated, “Despite the work being in black and white with no dialogue, the story and characters' emotions are easy to follow.”
Wang Xinyue thanked her peers and professors who helped her produce “Eiya no Requiem.”
Takei took the stage to present the Best Character Award to HAL Tokyo's Kakeru Hane for "Magakoro Musubi: Gyutto Komeu Omi." Takei spoke about the importance of characters in anime production as a deciding factor in Hane's work. “In recent years [the industry] has placed greater emphasis on characters,” speaking about profit streams for the anime industry. “It's a short that made me think we could sell character goods [of these characters]. That's important for events and awards like AnimeJapan,” Takei continued.
Hane received the award while holding an original plush of his character and thanked his peers, family, and professors. “We put our hearts and souls into creating this work,” Hane said.
The final technical award, the Best Design Award, was presented by Ogata to Hal Osaka's Katsuki Yokoyama for "Natsu no Omokage." Ogata noted that the work was highly rated by the selection committee, citing the expressions of the 3D CG characters and the story. “It's close to the Grand Prix-winning work,” Ogata said. He added, “I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.”
Yokoyama stated he was honored to receive the award and, “This is the culmination of my team's hard work, and as the director, I'm so happy to see our efforts come to fruition.”
With the technical awards given, all that was left were the Crunchyroll Award and the Grand Prix. Both prizes also came with a 1 million yen (about US$6,000) prize.
Beginning with the Crunchyroll Award, Suehira presented HAL Nagoya's Raiki Murao for "One with the City" ("Kono Machi to, Tomo ni"). “I felt this was a well-crafted work that left an impression,” Suehira stated. She continued, “I was also deeply impressed by how vividly the characters were portrayed and the dynamic animation. With its excellent pacing and ability to convey its message clearly and effectively, I believe these qualities are what earned it such high praise.”
Murao gave a brief acceptance speech, thanking those who worked on his piece.
It was finally time for the Grand Prix award. Presented by Hayashi, the award was given, with bated breath, to Kyoto Seika University's Yui Hara for "Police Men." Hayashi praised several aspects of the work, stating, “I feel the director, Hara, has a talent for creating amazing visuals. I'm excited to see what she does next.”
Upon receiving the award, Hara stated she made the piece while reflecting on what entertainment is. “I put a lot of thought into creating something that would move people, so I'm really happy to receive this award,” Hara said.
The Grand Prix wasn't the final award for the ceremony, though. One last AnimeJapan Special Award was presented by Sakurazaka46 member Matsuda to the four finalists. The Hara, Murao, and Yokoyama will be invited to Anime Expo 2026 by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs alongside Madoka Hadano, the creator of "Live in Red" by Tokyo Polytechnic University.
Matsuda stated on behalf of the selection committee, “Every single piece gave a sense of the possibilities and potential for the future of animation.”
"Live in Red" creator Hadano accepted the honor for the award winners and noted regarding her piece, “I'm happy to win this award for my work, filled with the love and passion [of my four-person team]”.
As the Emerging Creator Awards closed, Hayashi offered one final comment to the audience and award winners. “I hope everyone will remember the award winners. Maybe in a few years you'll see their names on a TV or movie [anime],” Hayashi said. He continued, “I'd be happy if you'd continue to support these up-and-coming creators.”
The winning works will be available in 200 countries through Crunchyroll and in Japan through Niconico Douga and d Anime Store. The works are also available on the AnimeJapan YouTube channel.
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