"AnimeJapan New Creator Award" Exhibits for the First Time at "Anime Expo," One of North America's Largest Anime Events - Inviting 2026 Award-Winning Creators

As part of the activities for the "New Creator Award," a short animation competition for students, the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) exhibited at "Anime Expo," North America's largest anime event held in Los Angeles, USA (Dates: July 2-5, 2026 *US time*). This initiative is commissioned under the "Creator Support Program (Development and Implementation)" of the Cultural Arts Activity Base Strengthening Fund, established by the Agency for Cultural Affairs with subsidies from the Japan Arts Council.

At this exhibition, the award-winning creators of the 2026 session were invited to the venue and held talk shows at the "New Creator Award" booth, and also appeared on the Crunchyroll stage. The booth attracted many visitors daily, with many fans stopping to watch screenings of the award-winning works. During the talk shows, visitors listened intently to the award-winning creators' behind-the-scenes stories and their thoughts behind their works, responding with warm applause. This served as an opportunity to showcase the talent of young Japanese creators to the world.

Details regarding the application guidelines for the "New Creator Award 2027" and information on each award will be announced in September 2026. The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held within the venue of "AnimeJapan 2027," which will be held in Osaka for the first time, at INTEX Osaka on March 27 (Saturday) and 28 (Sunday), 2027.

New Creator Award Booth & Talk Show Report

At the New Creator Award booth, screenings of the 2026 award-winning works were held, along with an exhibition introducing the award's overview and the award-winning creators. Many visitors came to the booth daily, with numerous fans captivated by the screening of the award-winning works. We also received comments from local student creators such as "I want to apply too," indicating a high level of interest in the talent of young Japanese creators. Additionally, the official AnimeJapan mascot characters, the "AJ Brothers," appeared in costume at the booth, posing for commemorative photos with international visitors and livening up the event.

On Friday, July 3rd, a talk show featuring the 2026 award-winning creators was held at the booth. The participants were Yui Hara and Hiroto Tsujinaka from Kyoto Seika University for their Grand Prix-winning work "POLICE MEN"; Raiki Murao and Aozora Imai from HAL Nagoya for their Crunchyroll Award-winning work "Kono Machi to, Tomoni"; and Katsuki Yokoyama and Mizuki Nishimura from HAL Osaka for their AnimeJapan Special Award-winning work "Natsu no Omokage." The six creators discussed the production process and inspiration behind their award-winning works, as well as the challenges and efforts they made as students. Visitors listened with great interest, and warm applause followed each segment of the talk, creating a pleasant atmosphere.

Talk Show Report 2: Crunchyroll Stage

On Saturday, July 4th, Raiki Murao from HAL Nagoya, winner of the Crunchyroll Award for "Kono Machi to, Tomoni," and Yuichiro Hayashi, the chief judge of the award, appeared on the Crunchyroll stage.

Anime Expo, North America's largest anime event, recorded over 410,000 attendees, the highest number to date, from over 65 countries in 2025, and this year too, many anime fans from around the world attended. At the beginning of the talk, Murao shared the inspiration he received locally, saying, "Actually visiting Anime Expo, I could feel the passion of everyone in the venue and their deep love for anime. I realized that there are no language barriers when it comes to anime." This was a valuable experience, speaking in front of fans from around the world in a foreign land, Los Angeles, and the venue responded with warm applause.

The award-winning works are distributed to over 200 countries and regions worldwide through Crunchyroll. Through the talk on stage, this provided an opportunity to deliver the works and the young talent behind them to a wider audience of overseas fans.

2026 New Creator Award Winners

● Grand Prix

Kyoto Seika University "POLICE MEN"

Winner: Yui Hara

● Crunchyroll Award

HAL Nagoya "Kono Machi to, Tomoni"

Winner: Raiki Murao

● Technical Award

Kyoto Seika University "Offbeat"

Winner: Jin Ryu

● Directing Award

Kyoto Seika University "Eiya no Requiem"

Winner: Kingetsu Ou

● Character Award

HAL Tokyo "Magokoro Musubi ~Gyutto Komeru Omoi~"

Winner: Sho Hane

● Art Award

HAL Osaka "Natsu no Omokage"

Winner: Katsuki Yokoyama

● AnimeJapan Special Award

HAL Nagoya "Kono Machi to, Tomoni"

Winner: Raiki Murao

HAL Osaka "Natsu no Omokage"

Winner: Katsuki Yokoyama

Kyoto Seika University "POLICE MEN"

Winner: Yui Hara

Tokyo Polytechnic University "Live in Red"

Winner: Madoka Hadano

Grand Prix / Special Award

No.10 "POLICE MEN"

Special Award / Crunchyroll Award

No.5 "Kono Machi to, Tomoni"

Special Award / Art Award

No.8 "Natsu no Omokage"

Special Award

No.13 "Live in Red"

Technical Award

No.4 "Offbeat"

Directing Award

No.3 "Eiya no Requiem"

Character Award

No.11 "Magokoro Musubi ~Gyutto Komeru Omoi~"

About AnimeJapan 2027

AnimeJapan, which held its 13th event at "AnimeJapan 2026" since its first event in 2014, is one of the world's largest anime festivals, attracting over 150,000 visitors from approximately 100 countries and regions.

AnimeJapan 2026 featured over 200 exhibiting companies, the presentation of approximately 300 works, and stages with over 300 participants, creating a space filled with content befitting the slogan "Everything about Anime is Here."

AnimeJapan 2027 and 2028 will be held in "Osaka," a city that attracted many people from around the world for the Osaka-Kansai Expo in 2025 and has prospered as a gateway for international trade since ancient times.

The event will feature public days where visitors can enjoy exhibition booths by anime-related companies and stages of popular works, as well as business days for meetings and business purposes. It will transmit the appeal of animation to the world to domestic and international business visitors and general attendees.

Event Outline

Name: AnimeJapan New Creator Award 2027

Organizers: Association of Japanese Animations, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Independent Administrative Institution National Arts and Culture Center

Special Cooperation: Crunchyroll, LLC

Secretariat: AnimeJapan Management Office (Sony Music Solutions Inc.)

【Application Guidelines】

Details to be announced around September (scheduled)

【Awards】

Details to be announced around September (scheduled)

【Awards Ceremony】

Scheduled to be held within the venue of "AnimeJapan 2027" at INTEX Osaka on March 27 (Saturday) and 28 (Sunday), 2027, marking the first time in Osaka.

Official Website: https://anime-japan.jp/creator/

Official SNS: X @animejapan_aj