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WALL-E, Eden of the East, Haruhi-chan Win Anime Kobe Awards (Updated)

The judging committee of the 14th Animation Kobe Awards has announced this year's award winners on Friday. The awards are among the most prestigious industry accolades in Japanese animation and media.

Individual Award

Kunio Katō (director and creator of La Maison en Petits Cubes)

Special Award

Shun-ichi Yukimuro (writer for Ashita no Joe, Candy Candy, Dog of Flanders, Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball, Gegege no Kitarō, Getter Robo, Kimba the White Lion)

Theatrical Film Award

WALL-E (Pixar)

Television Award

Eden of the East (Production I.G)

Network Award

Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya & Nyorōn Churuya-san (Kyoto Animation)

Theme Song Award

"Don't say 'lazy'" (K-ON! ending theme) by Sakurakou K-On Bu (Sakura High School Light Music Club)

The 14th Annual Animation Kobe event will hold an awards ceremony on October 18 in the city of Kobe in western Japan. The judging committee is composed of experts in the industry — notably the editors of animation and media magazines such as Animage, Animedia and Weekly ASCII,. Previous winners have included Mitsuo Iso, Hideaki Anno, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Miku Hatsune, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, Ghost in the Shell, Paprika, Princess Mononoke, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Key the Metal Idol, Voices of a Distant Star, Phatasy Star Online, Final Fantasy XI, Second Life, Fujiko F. Fujio, Leiji Matsumoto, and the theme songs to the Fruits Basket, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Macross Frontier television series.

Update: Yukimuro drafted over 2,000 episodes of the long-running Sazae-san television anime series. The judging committee said that it gave the theatrical film award to WALL-E because there was no Japanese anime contender that was as "completely packed with the sheer enjoyment of cinema" as WALL-E was. Source: animeanime.jp