The international animated film festival "Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2026 (TAAF2026)" (organized by the Executive Committee and the Association of Japanese Animations) will be held in Ikebukuro, Tokyo from March 13th to 16th. TAAF has been held since 2014 under the motto "Tokyo will become the hub of animation," and this year marks its 13th anniversary. By screening high-quality, original works from around the world in Tokyo, the festival aims to promote anime culture and industry, and discover and nurture new talent. The festival's festival director is Junichi Nishioka, former head of public relations at Studio Ghibli and currently a public relations and curatorial fellow, where he trains the next generation of filmmakers. Nishioka says, "TAAF is one of the few film festivals in Japan that encompasses the past, present, and future of animation," and we spoke to him about his thoughts on the festival and the current anime industry.
◇A film festival that shines a light on great works and can be enjoyed by all generations
Nishioka joined Studio Ghibli in 1999 and has been involved in public relations and advertising. He has served as Secretary General of the Tokuma Memorial Foundation for Animation since 2011 and as Director of the Public Relations Department since 2017. He has also been involved in the Mitaka Ghibli Museum Library and Mitaka Anime Festa, which are events where the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka selects and introduces anime from around the world, and has now been appointed as the Festival Director of TAAF.
"The previous director, Koji Takeuchi, was looking for a successor, and I worked with him as an apprentice for about two years. Our activities at the Ghibli Museum Library in Mitaka and the Mitaka Anime Festa had something in common with TAAF in the sense that we both wanted to introduce excellent animation from overseas to Japan, so I was asked to take on the role of director."
While various international anime film festivals are held all over Japan, the biggest feature of TAAF is that it is held in Tokyo. "Japan has an image worldwide of being known for animation, so it is significant to hold a full-scale international anime film festival in Tokyo, the capital of Japan," he explains.
Another feature is that it covers a wide range of anime from the past, present, and future.
"The Anime Achievement category, which honors those who are considered legends in the anime world, represents the past, while the Anime of the Year category, which recognizes outstanding animation and creators from the past year, represents the present. As for the future, we place importance on the competition section for international works that have not yet been shown in Japan, and we showcase excellent works by pitting them against each other when they are about to hit the big screen. There are very few film festivals in Japan that do all of this evenly. TAAF holds competitions for both feature films and short films, and there are few festivals that do both. I believe that TAAF was established with the desire to aim to be like the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France."
Of these, the section they are particularly focusing on is the competition section, which represents the "future." "The competition section is the most time-consuming and expensive, but it is the highlight of the film festival, so we want to make it happen even if it takes a lot of effort. We go to great lengths to arrange transportation and accommodation for the judges and staff, and to review over 1,000 submitted works, but it is worth doing because it shines a light on new works," he says of the festival's significance.
With the traditional three pillars of the awards - Anime Achievement, Anime of the Year, and Competition - Nishioka wondered if there was something he could do this time to adapt to the changes in the anime industry.
"The current animation industry is changing, both in the way it's marketed and the way animation is made. Rather than the old days when there were big studios making animation on a large scale, there are more and more individual creators, and sometimes films made on a small scale become big hits. Many factors are changing."
As a new initiative, we will be inviting Louise Bagnall, director of Cartoon Saloon, an Irish studio whose numerous works have been nominated for Academy Awards, to hold a symposium to introduce the behind-the-scenes production of the feature film "Julian."
"We wanted to focus on showcasing the current state of the animation industry. Cartoon Saloon has produced many wonderful works and has a loyal fan base, but it is still not widely known in Japan. There are many good studios and great works around the world, so we would be happy to shine a light on them. In addition, for our opening film, we will be screening "ARCO," which won the Annie Award for Best Independent Feature. It is not a work from a studio with a long history, but director Hugo Bienvenue made this feature film with students from the Gobelins animation school in France, where he teaches. He sold off his own money to make a pilot film and showed it to many people. It caught the eye of Natalie Portman, who asked him to serve as executive producer, and it has also won awards at various film festivals. We are truly honored to be able to introduce such a work."
In addition to "ARCO," a Takashi Yanase of works will be screened, including "The Gentle Lion" and "Chirin's Bell" by Takashi Yanase, who became popular through the NHK morning drama " Anpan ," " To Asadora ...," based on a manga by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, "Apocalypse Hotel," which also attracted attention for its character designs by manga artist Izumi Takemoto, and "Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle-," which won the Anime Fan Award, decided by fan vote.
"We also want to support original, high-quality works. We consciously select works that can be enjoyed by a wide range of people of all ages."
◇Current state of the anime industry: A huge gap between Japan and overseas
As the festival director of TAAF, Nishioka says, "I focused on showing the current state of the anime industry." What does he think about the current trends in anime around the world?
"I feel that we are no longer in an era where animations made by big Hollywood studios like Disney and Pixar continue to be huge hits. High-quality animations made in Europe and elsewhere are becoming more readily available in Japan. In fact, many works don't become hits, but there are also cases like Latvian work "Flow," which was made almost entirely by one person but became a hit around the world and even won an Academy Award. This is true in Japan as well, and I feel that we have entered an era where the range of people making animation has become more diverse, and works can be made and recognized by the world even if they are not made by a big studio."
Regarding the content of the works, he said, "There is an increasing number of works overseas that are war-conscious."
"The war in Ukraine has been going on for four years, with no signs of abating. New fighting has also broken out in the Middle East. It seems to me that overseas there is a significant increase in the proportion of socially conscious works that take war into consideration. On the other hand, in Japan, it would be an exaggeration to say that there is no awareness of such issues at all, but I feel that there are many works that treat justice and friendship as fantasy, and I see a big gap there. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, but I think it's fine to have both. The gap is particularly large when it comes to short stories; overseas there are many works that deal with environmental issues, war, LGBTQ+, and the like, but in Japan there are an overwhelming number that deal with personal themes such as relationships with mothers, friendships, and self-discovery."
Despite this gap between Japan and overseas, he says the environment surrounding domestic creators is "moving in a positive direction."
"In particular, at studios that are run as companies, it's becoming less common for people to think, 'I can't make a living from this job,' and it's becoming a legitimate job opportunity. I feel that this is a major change. However, it is certain that this has caused the operating costs of companies to rise dramatically. In terms of anime production costs, up until about 10 years ago, it cost 12 to 15 million yen to produce a single TV series, but now it costs about three times that. As a result, the quality has improved, but costs, including labor costs, have also risen. Also, while DVDs are no longer selling, distribution platforms have been put in place, and Japanese animation can now be distributed all over the world, which has greatly helped companies. I think the animation environment has changed in many ways."
◇To let people know about good works... What are "works you want to see"?
Regardless of the size of the studio, or whether it's produced by an individual or an organization, countless works are released into the world every day, both for television and theatrical anime, and there are many cases where even good works end up being buried. Nishioka explains the significance of film festivals, saying, "In that sense, film festivals are a good opportunity, and I hope people will actually go and discover good works and creators." Nishioka said, "Right now, I really don't know what will be a hit," so we asked him, "How can we get good works known?"
"Once you understand that, it's not that hard. Even if you hold a screening event, you don't know if there's any point in just handing out flyers, and even if you use social media, it won't spread unless there's some kind of trigger, so it's really difficult. I've been involved in anime distribution for nearly 30 years, and this may be an eternal theme. For example, Miyazaki Hayao's "The Boy and the Heron?" was a hit in Japan, but the response overseas was even greater than expected. Ghibli producer Suzuki Toshio is always thinking about "reading the mood of the times." Whenever there is advertising or an announcement to make to the public, he asks, "What are people thinking right now?" and "What is the public feeling right now?" I learned thoroughly at Ghibli the importance of reading the times."
Although Nishioka has been involved in the industry for a long time as a member of Studio Ghibli, he racks his brains every day trying to get more people to know about great works. However, he also expresses his hope that "films will be made that encourage and inspire those who watch them."
"I think that films that can encourage and empower the audiences and viewers at the time will be hits and last. For example, the theatrical version of ' Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba' was a huge hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. I went to see it, and I was almost in tears. Just hearing Rengoku's powerful lines gave me courage and encouragement, and I thought, 'All Japanese people right now should watch this,' and sure enough, it was a huge hit. I hope that films like this will be hits, and that more will be made."
(White Dog/MANTANWEB)
