The results of the 25th TV Asahi Newcomer Scenario Award were announced on October 29th, with the Grand Prize going to Kanako Kondo's "Confession" out of 825 entries, and two works selected for the Excellence Prize: Yasuhiro Terai's "Plagiarists" and Kohei Fujishiro's "Pure Love." The award ceremony was held on the same day at TV Asahi headquarters (Minato Ward, Tokyo).
The TV Asahi Newcomer Scenario Award was established in 2000 and has produced such writers as Ryota Furusawa, Riko Sakaguchi, and Hiroyuki Komine. This year's theme was "mystery," and after an internal screening, the final selection was made by judges Yumiko Inoue, Yoshikazu Okada, and Kazuyuki Morosawa, who decided on the Grand Prize and Excellence Prize.
Terai, who received the Excellence Award, is originally from Fukui Prefecture and attended a creative school in Osaka with the aim of becoming a manga artist. At the award ceremony, he explained why he wanted to become a screenwriter, saying, "There was a curriculum at school where we made independent films, and that's where I became interested in video." He said that in his 20s he worked as a freelancer, writing game scenarios, and "I couldn't decide to focus on being a screenwriter, but when I was approaching 30, my girlfriend at the time asked me, 'Which do you choose, screenplays or me?' So I chose screenplays and started entering screenplay contests," he said, revealing a turning point in his life that drew laughter from the audience.
Selection committee member Inoue commented, "This year's judging was very close, and we voted several times to decide on the winning work," noting that all the works were of a high standard.
