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When Marnie Was There, Giovanni's Island, Conan, Doraemon, Buddha 2 Earn Japan Academy Prize Nods
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The Japan Academy Prize Association for excellence in film announced the nominees for the 38th annual awards on Thursday. The five movies that have been nominated for Animation of the Year are:
When Marnie Was There
Giovanni's Island
Detective Conan: Dimensional Sniper
Buddha 2: Tezuka Osamu no Buddha - Owarinaki Tabi
Stand By Me Doraemon
The late actor Bunta Sugawara (Spirited Away, Tales from Earthsea, Wolf Children) is one of five individuals who will receive posthumous Chairperson's Special Awards for lifetime achievement. Sound engineer Masashi Tara (From Up On Poppy Hill) will receive an Association's Special Award for lifetime achievement as well.
The nominees in the Foreign Film category are Frozen, Interstellar, Jersey Boys, Fury, and Godzilla.
The Nippon Academy-Sho Association, a Japanese group roughly comparable to America's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Oscars fame, presents the Japan Academy Prizes every year. The nominees all receive "Awards of Excellence," but the actual top award in each category will be presented in a ceremony on February 27 at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo.
Movies are eligible if they opened in Japan between December 15 2013, and December 13, 2014.
The Animation of the Year category was only created eight years ago. Last year, Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises won the award. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Tekkonkinkreet, Ponyo, Summer Wars, The Secret World of Arrietty, From Up On Poppy Hill, and Wolf Children were the previous winners. Before that, Studio Ghibli won the overall Picture of the Year Award for Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
