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Kyoto Animation Suspends Annual Awards

posted on by Jennifer Sherman
KyoAni, Animation DO also reconsider November fan event; online orders delayed

Kyoto Animation announced on Wednesday that it has temporarily suspended its 11th Kyoto Animation Awards. Staff decided to suspend the awards after discussions in light of the fire at Kyoto Animation's 1st studio building on July 18.

For the time being, the studio will no longer accept submissions or inquiries about the awards. The announcement noted that people who already submitted inquiries may have to wait for some time for responses. The studio will post updates about the awards on its website in the future.

Kyoto Animation had announced on April 19 that it will hold the 11th Kyoto Animation Awards.

The anime studio announced the results of the 10th Kyoto Animation Awards on January 23. Once again, no grand prize was awarded. The studio began collecting entries in mid-2018, and it only granted awards to novels this year. Hana Kagami's Jikan received an honorable mention. Yūma Tachibana's Tenyakuryō no Majo and Haruo Ogawa's Sakura no Furu Machi received the new KA Esuma Bunko Special Award.

Kyoto Animation did not hold the ninth Kyoto Animation Awards in 2018 after announcing in July 2017 that the awards would take a one-year break. The staff explained that they were taking the time to improve the awards, and the 10th annual awards would be a "new start."

The studio announced the results of the eighth Kyoto Animation Awards program in May 2017. The studio awarded an honorable mention in the full-length novel category for Hiroshi Yūki's Nijūseiki Denki Mokuroku (20th Century Electricity Catalog). The studio awarded no grand prizes, and no Animation DO Special Award prizes in the full-length novel category, and no grand prizes, Animation DO Special Award prizes, and honorable mentions in the short novel category. The eighth awards marked the first time in three years that a novel was awarded an honorable mention.

Kyoto Animation announced the award program in 2009 and offered 300,000-yen (about US$3,600 at the time) grand prizes and 100,000-yen honorable mention prizes in novel, manga, and scenario (script treatment) categories. The awards added the "Animation DO Special Award" in 2015. In the first year, the rules noted that popular winning entries were to have had a chance at being animated by Kyoto Animation, but the rules for the second year did not mention this possibility.

The only work that has won a grand prize at the awards was the Violet Evergarden novel in 2014. The Violet Evergarden anime series debuted in January 2018, and an OVA premiered in April 2018. Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memories Doll (Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidō Shuki Ningyō; seen left), a side story to the Violet Evergarden anime, will open in Japan on September 6.

Submissions in the Kyoto Animation Awards have also inspired the Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club, High Speed! -Free! Starting Days-, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!, Beyond the Boundary, and Myriad Colors Phantom World anime. Kyoto Animation's KA Esuma Bunko imprint announced in July 2018 that it will produce an anime of Yūki's Nijūseiki Denki Mokuroku novel.

In a separate development, staff of Kyoto Animation and Animation DO's "KyoAni and DO Fan Days 2019: This Is What We Are Now!! -It's A Festival After 2 Years!-" event announced on Wednesday that they are reconsidering the content of the "Enjoy! The World of KyoAni and DO" fan appreciation event, which is scheduled to be held at Miyako Messe in Kyoto on November 3-4.

The studios are discussing major changes to the content of the event, and ticket reservations are currently suspended. Staff also decided to cancel all stage events at the event, including talk events, autograph sessions, and lectures. People who applied to attend stage events will not receive the results of their applications. The website will post more information about the event after it is decided.

"KyoAni and DO Fan Days 2019: This Is What We Are Now!! -It's A Festival After 2 Years!-" is the studios' fourth joint fan event and the first since 2017. The event also includes "Sound! From Kyoto to the World," which is scheduled to be held at ROHM Theatre Kyoto on November 9-10.

Additionally, Kyoto Animation announced on Wednesday that orders through its online store may take up to one month to process and ship. The studio apologized for the delays. Due to maintenance, customers will not be able to place orders from August 14 to 25, and customer service for the online shop will be unavailable from August 15 to 25.

Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building suffered a fire on July 18, killing 35 people and injuring 33 others (as well as the alleged arson suspect who is currently hospitalized). Kyoto Animation has opened an account to accept donations, which raised 620 million yen (about US$5.7 million) in its first two days, and has received a total of 965.63 million yen (about US$8.87 million) from 47,991 donations as of July 29. The company will give the funds to families of the deceased and injured victims of the fire, and also use them for rebuilding.

Sources: Kyoto Animation (link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5), KyoAni and DO Fan Days' website (link 2)


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