Wolf Children - Mamoru Hosoda
The Japan Academy Prize is a film award that's existed for 42 years. Despite a long and culturally significant history that began over 100 years ago, the Animation of the Year award has only existed for 12 short years.
The 2019 award went to Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai. Mirai tells the story of a little boy who is having trouble adjusting to the birth of his baby sister. One day, a teenage version of his sister appears from the future, accompanied by other time travelers. Why has she come? That's a question that can only be answered by watching the film.
This is not the first of Hosoda's films to be honored by this prestigious award. In fact, he was the first person to ever receive it. In 2007, the award went to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. 2010, 2013, and 2016 also saw wins for Hosoda, with Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy & The Beast all taking home awards. The only other director or studio to win this prize a comparable number of times is Studio Ghibli, and this year Hosoda has overtaken them with Mirai.
Wolf Children - Mamoru Hosoda
Other nominees for the 2019 award included Dragon Ball Super: Broly, penguin highway, Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer, and Okko's Inn.
What do you think of the nomination? Did Mirai deserve to take him the prize? Let us know in the comments.
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