The award ceremony for the 48th Japan Academy Film Prizes was held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on March 14. From the five nominees in the animation category, Look Back won the Best Animation of the Year award.
Additionally, the eight main animators of Look Back were also selected for the Creative Contribution Award, which was newly established this year to honor engineers who have made particularly outstanding contributions to the films selected for the awards. The eight animators were: Kiyotaka Oshiyama, Toshiyuki Inoue, Yuka Geshi, Takuya Ninuma, Katsuhiko Kitada, Shuichi Ohara, Tasan, and Ayako Hata. Among them, Oshiyama also served as the director, screenplay writer, and character designer of the film.
Meanwhile, actor Yuumi Kawai, who voiced one of the film’s two protagonists, Fujino, won the Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role award for her role as An Kagawa in the Yu Irie-directed live-action film A Girl Named Ann.
Director Oshiyama stated on stage at the award ceremony, “Without the people who worked on this film and those who support the Japanese animation industry, we would not have been able to make this film.”
The 58-minute anime film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto‘s (Chainsaw Man) coming-of-age manga of the same name released in Japan on June 28, 2024, earning 2.04 billion yen (13.73 million USD) from its total domestic run.
Films eligible for the prize included those released in Japan between January 1 and December 31, 2024. Look Back was selected from the five Japanese anime films that received the Excellent Animation of the Year award. The other four films included — Ganbatte Ikimasshoi, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM, Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, and Case Closed:The Million-dollar Pentagram.
The winners of the main awards are as follows:
Picture of the Year: A Samurai in Time (Jun’ichi Yasuda)
Animation of the Year: Look Back (Kiyotaka Oshiyama)
Director of the Year: Michihito Fujii (Faceless)
Screenplay of the Year: Akiko Nogi (Last Mile)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Ryusei Yokohama (Faceless)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Yuumi Kawai (A Girl Named Ann)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Takao Osawa (Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Riho Yoshioka (Faceless)
Outstanding Achievement in Music: Hiroko Sebu (Let’s Go Karaoke!)
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Akira Sako (Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General)
Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction: Hiroyuki Kase (Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General)
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: Masumi Miura (Cells at Work!)
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording: Kazushiko Yokono (Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General)
Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing: Junichi Yasuda (A Samurai in Time)
Outstanding Foreign Language Film: Oppenheimer
Newcomer of the Year: Asuka Saito,Nagisa Shibuya, Anna Yamada, Eiji Akaso, Rihito Itagaki, Keitatsu Koshiyama, Jun Saito, Shintaro Morimoto
Creative Contribution Award: Golden Kamuy decoration staff, Look Back animators
Special Award: Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General VFX team
Theme Song Award: “Dear” (Dear Family) by Mrs. GREEN APPLE
Sources: Japan Academy Film Prize official website, avex pictures press release
