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Toho, AlphaBoat's 4th Gemstone Contest Asks for Animated Shorts About Shinjuku

Toho Co., LTD. and AlphaBoat's video audition project GEMSTONE announced on Tuesday that it is launching its fourth contest, titled "Shinjuku Animator Edition," that will seek out entries for short anime centered on Tokyo's Shinjuku ward as a theme and setting. The shorts should be less than five minutes in length, have famous landmarks or locations in Shinjuku, contain facts about the setting, or feature Shinjuku's history.

The contest will accept entries until October 31, with the winner to be announced in early December. The winner of the contest will be award 2 million yen (about US$18,300), and will also feature on the Shinjuku Marui electronic billboard, as well as locations. The winner will also work with a TOHO producer to plan a new work, and will receive an offer to sign on for AlphaBoat digital management. All entries that pass the first round of judging will feature on GEMSTONE's YouTube channel.

GEMSTONE's second contest is a collaboration with Tokyo Otaku Mode, with finalists appearing in the official ceremony at Anime NYC. Submissions for entries are ongoing for that contest until September 2.

The project's first audition call centered on "Godzilla" as a theme, while the third audition call centered on "Ultraman."

Sources: GEMSTONE, Anime! Anime! (Kōtarō Nakase)