The award ceremony for the Twin Engine and Straight Edge literary award "Anime to the World! Novel Award (Aniseka Novel Award)" was held in Tokyo on September 17th. This open literary award guarantees that the winning work will be adapted into an anime or book. The grand prize winner, selected from a total of approximately 6,000 submissions, is Puri's "I'm Sorry About My Oldness," a novel by her mother (the heroine) who forces me to surround myself with her and doesn't treat me like a bride in the frontier where I married, but thanks to that, I can live freely!" (abbreviated as "Ofuru"), which has been selected as the grand prize winner. It was announced that the anime project will be launched. Junichi Sato, who has worked on "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon," "Ojamajo Doremi," and "ARIA," will serve as general director, and it was also announced that the new studio NAGOMI, founded in 2024, will produce the work. Sato spoke about the appeal of the work.
The film is a love romance about a princess who is banished from the royal palace by her mother, the queen, and finds happiness in a remote area where she is exiled. The light-hearted story and heartwarming worldview of the princess, who overcomes difficulties with the help of a magical stuffed animal despite her unfortunate circumstances, were highly praised.
Director Sato commented on the appeal of the series, saying, "The title is long, but it contains important elements. What's appealing about the main character is that he's not greedy. He faces adversity, but I think the core of the story is that, as the title suggests, 'Thanks to him, I can live freely!' If you look at interviews with office workers, as of around 2020, about 70% of people in their 20s don't want to be promoted. This work has something that people who would rather be free than get caught up in troublesome things can relate to. However, this doesn't mean that he has given up on everything, and the main character uses his power for the sake of others." He also mentioned the appearance of a magical stuffed animal, saying, "It contains fun elements that make it a great anime adaptation. I think it's a work that is worthy of the 'Take it to the World with Anime!'"
Puri said she loves "Kaleido Star," which was produced by Director Sato, and added, "I also bought the record of 'Memole, the Witch's Hat' (in which Director Sato participated) when I was little and used to sing along. I'm very honored."
Appearing at the awards ceremony, Twin Engine CEO Yamamoto Koji said, "I'm excited and relieved that Sato Jun (General Director Sato), who I had been recommending from the selection process, will be taking on the role." He also said about this year's "Aniseka Novel Award," "In the heyday of comic book originals, there was a competition to get works adapted into anime. Nowadays, anime comes in many different forms, and I hope that we will see not only comic book originals, but also original works and works based on novels. In the past, anime was just for otaku, but now it has become known worldwide. I hope that this time, by being adapted into an anime, the work will become known worldwide."
The awards also awarded special prizes to Nanase Natsume's "Dungeon Sumikko Gurashi: The world is desperately searching for streamers who are unaware of their abilities. Come out of the dungeon quickly!?" and Aoi Miyamae's "I was tutoring a handsome boy when a handsome older marquis proposed to me?" The two works will be made into books and published by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha in 2026.
