AnimeJapan New Creator Award 2027 Opens Applications October 1
The prize pool and the Crunchyroll streaming and event access attached to the win are what separate this student competition from a school festival screening, and the 2026 edition's intake of over 170 works from about 50 schools is the benchmark the second edition now has to clear.
Reporting from 1 source: GameBusiness.jp.
The Japan Anime Association will accept entries for the AnimeJapan New Creator Award 2027 from October 1, 2026 to February 6, 2027 at 18:00, open to students enrolled at schools in Japan. Works must run at least 1 minute and under 15 minutes. Prizes include a 1 million yen Grand Prix and a 1 million yen Crunchyroll Award, with winning works streaming worldwide on Crunchyroll.
Entries close on February 6, 2027 at 18:00, and the award ceremony is set for March 27 or 28, 2027 on a stage at the AnimeJapan venue. The competition runs as a commissioned project of the Creator Support Project under the Cultural Arts Activity Foundation Fund at the Japan Arts Council, with subsidies from the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Besides the Grand Prix and the Crunchyroll Award, there are Technical, Directing, Character and Art awards at 300,000 yen each, plus an AnimeJapan Special Award that carries the right to join anime events in Japan and overseas and a seminar by working creators at the winner's school. Each award may be declared with no recipient.
- Grand Prix (1 work): 1 million yen
- Crunchyroll Award (1 work): 1 million yen scholarship
- Technical Award: 300,000 yen
- Directing Award: 300,000 yen
- Character Award: 300,000 yen
- Art Award: 300,000 yen
- AnimeJapan Special Award: right to join anime events in Japan and overseas, plus a seminar at the winner's school
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- GameBusiness.jp 「AnimeJapan 新人クリエイター大賞 2027」10月1日応募受付開始。グランプリ賞金100万円、入賞作品は世界配信へ