Studio Ghibli Wins Spain's Princess of Asturias Award, an Anime First
The prize marks the first time Spain's highest cultural honor has gone to an anime studio, placing Ghibli alongside laureates like Margaret Atwood and Martin Scorsese.
Key Facts
- Studio Ghibli won the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, the first anime studio to receive Spain's top cultural prize.
- The award includes a Joan Miro sculpture, a diploma, and €50,000, and will be presented in October in Oviedo by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
- The jury praised Ghibli's films as a 'cultural bridge' that transmits empathy, respect, and love of nature, and highlighted the studio's complex female protagonists.
- The honor follows Ghibli's honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2024, and the studio is the first purely animation winner of the Princess of Asturias Award.
Reporting from 1 source: Cartoon Brew.
Studio Ghibli has been awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, becoming the first anime studio to win Spain's top cultural prize. The jury praised the studio's hand-drawn craft, environmental themes, and complex female protagonists. The award will be presented in October.
The Princess of Asturias Foundation announced the award on Wednesday. The prize, often called Spain's answer to the Nobel, includes a Joan Miro sculpture, a diploma, and €50,000. Ghibli will receive it at an October ceremony in Oviedo led by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
The jury called Ghibli's films a 'cultural bridge' that transmits empathy, respect, and love of nature across generations and borders. They also highlighted the studio's tradition of complex, transformative female protagonists. The honor comes two years after Ghibli's honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2024.
Animation has been recognized by the award before: Iranian-French cartoonist Marjane Satrapi won in 2024, and Argentine cartoonist Quino was honored in 2014. But Ghibli is the first recipient from the anime industry and the first purely animation winner.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.