Society For The Promotion Of Japanese Animation Accepting Submissions For The SPJA Industry Awards

Submissions for SPJA Awards Now Being Accepted

Anaheim, California (January 28, 2008) ‹ The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the overseeing body of the nation's largest anime/manga convention (Anime Expo®), announces a call for submissions for the highly recognized and coveted SPJA Industry Awards. More information can be found on the website www.spja.org.

"The SPJA Board of Directors are proud to stand behind the SPJA Industry Awards. It is a fantastic opportunity for the public to recognize titles and individuals that have made an major impact within the anime and manga industry during the past year," states Mr. Marc Perez SPJA Board chairman.

"The SPJA Industry awards give fans the opportunity to see what is new in the past year in the anime and manga world, and to voice what they liked. It is also an opportunity to bring recognition and attention to titles that may have been over-looked but are worthy for public consideration," states Anime Expo® 2008 Director of Programs Ms. May Anderson.

With twenty-one (21) official categories, industry companies will be allowed to submit one (1) entry per category which will be narrowed, by an internal voting body, to a pool of finalists to be voted upon by the public via the SPJA (www.spja.org) and Anime Expo® (www.anime-expo.org) websites. Winners will be announced via an awards ceremony during Anime Expo® 2008 (July 3-6, 2008; Los Angeles Convention Center) at the official SPJA Industry Reception. The nomination entry deadline is February 22, 2008 at 11:59 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight-Savings Time).

SPJA Industry Awards official criteria for eligibility, rules, procedures and forms can be downloaded from the official SPJA website www.spja.org. Inquiries can be made to Awards@spja.org

SPJA Industry Awards Categories

Category 01: BEST VOICE ACTOR (JAPANESE)
Japanese male voice for an animated role in a TV or OVA series; does not necessarily have to be the main male lead in the series.

Category 02: BEST VOICE ACTOR (ENGLISH)
English male voice for an animated role in a TV or OVA series; does not necessarily have to be the main male lead in the series.

Category 03: BEST VOICE ACTRESS (JAPANESE)
Japanese female voice for an animated role in a TV or OVA series; does not necessarily have to be the main female lead in the series.

Category 04: BEST VOICE ACTRESS (ENGLISH)
English female voice for an animated role in a TV or OVA series; does not necessarily have to be the main female lead in the series.

Category 05: BEST CASTING DIRECTOR
The English casting director that best casts the roles of all spoken parts in an anime TV or OVA series in contrast to the original Japanese version.

Category 06: BEST CHARACTER DESIGNER
The designer is responsible for designing, drawing, and interpreting original production characters for an anime TV or OVA series.

Category 07: BEST MECHANICAL DESIGNER
The mechanical designer is based upon the design and drawing of key production mechanisms for a TV or OVA series including mecha, ships, space stations, and other working mechanics.

Category 08: BEST MALE CHARACTER
The male character is a non-female gender character in a TV or OVA series; does not necessarily have to be the main male lead in the series. This category will factor in overall character design, development, and voice.

Category 08: BEST FEMALE CHARACTER
The female character is a non-male gender character in a TV or OVA series; does not necessarily have to be the main female lead in the series. This category will factor in overall character design, development, and voice.

Category 10: BEST MASCOT CHARACTER
The mascot is a character that primarily does not take on human form and portrays a supporting role in a TV or OVA series.

Category 11: BEST BACKGROUND DESIGNER
The background designer is responsible for designing and drawing key production backgrounds for a TV or OVA series.

Category 12: BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO ANIMATION
Anime series that is made specially to be released on home video formats, with a majority release without prior showings on broadcast TV or in theaters. It is usually referred to as an OVA or OAV series.

Category 13: BEST FEATURE FILM
Anime feature film which is made specially to be released in theaters, with a majority release without prior showings on TV. No distinction shall be made with regards to short films or series films.

Category 14: BEST TELEVISION SERIES
Anime series that was made originally for broadcast television in Japan. Usually consists of thirteen (13) or more episodes.

Category 15: BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
An original score is a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring originating with the submitting anime TV series.

Category 16: BEST ORIGINAL SONG
An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the anime TV series. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the series or as the opening and/or ending credits.

Category 17: BEST DIRECTOR
The person responsible for the best interpretive aspects of a TV or OVA series; including the integration of all the elements as acting, staging, artistry required to realize the writer's conception.

Category 18: BEST MANGA - ACTION
Manga class of creative works characterized by a greater emphasis on exciting action sequences than on character development or story-telling.

Category 19: BEST MANGA - COMEDY
Manga class of creative works characterized by a greater emphasis on humorous sequences than on character development or story-telling.

Category 20: BEST MANGA - DRAMA
Manga class of creative works characterized by a series of events consisting of vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest in character development and story-telling.

Category 21: BEST PUBLICATION
Includes periodicals such as magazines, scholarly journals, and newspapers covering anime and manga.

About Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit organization with a mission to popularize and educate the American public about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more popularly known by its entertainment property ­ Anime Expo®. More information can be found at its website (www.spja.org).