The 46th Japan Academy Award announced on January 23 its Excellence Awards wherein five films were selected for the Best Animated Feature The First Slam Dunk, One Piece Film Red, Suzume no Tojimari, Inu-OH and Kagami no Kojo were selected.

The movies are directed by Takehiko Inoue, Goro Taniguchi, Makoto Shinkai, Masaaki Yuasa, and Keiichi Hara, respectively.

The Japan Academy Film Prize Association has announced the recipients of the 46th annual Japan Academy Film Prizes. Wherein, One Piece Film Red‘s music team has won the special award.

Along with them, the Special award by the association was also given to Shōhei Kawamoto (art director of Doraemon anime & movies), Masanobu Amemiya (car stunts for live-action Ikebukuro West Gate Park, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Godzilla vs. Biollante), Yasuhiro Fukuoka (casting director for Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths) and to Naomi Koike (decoration).

Furthermore, the special award from the chairperson of the association was granted to Shunya Itо̄ (director of Lupin III: Farewell to Nostradamus), Yūzō Kayama (actor in Kochikame: Tokyo Beat Cops), & Hideki Mochizuki (lighting in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) for their immense contribution in film industry for several years.

Also, the special award was also posthumously granted to Hideo Onchi (director of Toward the Terra), Kazuki Omori (director, screenwriter in The Boy Who Saw the Wind, Godzilla vs. Biollante), Yōichi Sai (director, screenwriter for live-action Kamui Gaiden), Hirо̄ Matsuda (screenwriter), Mitsunobu Kawamura (producer), & Iwao Ishii (editor).

The One Piece Film Red is the highest earning movie amongst the 5 selected.

One Piece Film Red has also become the highest-selling and highest-earning film installment in the franchise, and is currently ranked #6 among all-time highest-earning anime films in Japan and #9 among all-time highest-earning films in Japan.

The film was released in Japan on August 6, 2022, and has completed 157 days in theatres and will end its run theatrical run on January 29.

It was released in the United States and Canada on November 4, and in Australia and New Zealand on November 3, where it earned $12,768,073 in its second week and reached #8 at the U.S. box office.

The Inu-Oh movie premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in September 2021, with the film releasing in Japan in May 2022. GKIDS began screening the film in U.S. theaters on Aug 12, 2022.

Inu-Oh is also among the list of anime films which were considered eligible to get an Oscar nomination. It was also selected to screen at the Annecy Festival and the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival.

GKIDs describes the plot of the movie as follows:

Inu-Oh is born with unique physical characteristics, and the horrified adults cover every inch of his body with garments, including a mask on his face. One day, he meets a boy named Tomona, a blind biwa player, and as Tomona plays a delicate song of tangled fate, Inu-Ou discovers an incredible ability to dance.

Inu-Ou and Tomona become business partners and inseparable friends, using their creative gifts to survive on the margins of society, as song after song gain them notoriety and propel them to stardom. Through the songs, Inu-Ou mesmerizes his audiences on stage, and gradually begins to transform into someone of unequaled beauty. But why is Tomona blind? Why was Inu-Ou born with unique characteristics? It is a story about the friendship of Inu-Ou and Tomona, who dance and sing to get to the truth and break each other’s curse.

Furthermore, it has been announced that the box office revenue for the new theater adaptation anime directed by Makoto Shinkai, Suzume No Tojimari has surpassed 12.48 billion yen (approximately $117 million) .

The film has also recorded a total audience count of around 9.398 million people.

Suzume no Tojimari released in Japan on Nov 11, 2022. The movie was also released in Dolby Cinema technology in 6 theatres across Japan.

Also, It has been announced that the box office revenue for the THE FIRST SLAM DUNK has surpassed 8.27 billion yen (approximately $78 million) within 44 days of its release.

The film has also recorded a total audience count of around 5.67 million people. From January 13 to 15, the movie ranked first in the box office for the 7th consecutive week, showing no signs of slowing down in popularity.

Whereas, Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Kagami No Kojo) is a Japanese novel written by Mizuki Tsujimura, and published by Poplar Publishing in May 2017. A manga adaptation illustrated by Tomo Taketomi was serialized in Shueisha’s seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump from June 2019 to February 2022, with its chapters collected into five tankōbon volumes.

The official website describes the plot of Lonely Castle In The Mirror as:

One day, a mirror in Kokoro’s room suddenly began to glow in front of her eyes, as she had lost her place at school and was confined to her room. She walked through the shining mirror to find a mysterious castle-like building. There were seven people in a similar situation to Kokoro. It is said that a secret “key” is hidden in the castle, and whoever finds it will have their wish come true. Why were these seven people gathered together? and where is the key? When everything is revealed, you will be surprised and moved.

Source: Mantan Web