KyoAni Cancels 11th Kyoto Animation Awards with a Heavy Heart

Kyoto Animation announced on April 19, 2019, that the 11th Kyoto Animation Awards would be held sometime in 2019. However, after a fire erupted in their first studio on July 18, there was doubt about whether the awards will be held this year or not. Despite Kyoto Animation’s attempts at damage control, it looks like the 11th Kyoto Animation Awards are cancelled. 

According to news confirmed on November 20, Kyoto Animation has decided to cancel the 11th Kyoto Animation Awards after internal discussions. With the current state of the studio, it would be difficult and somewhat uncouth to host the awards.

What about the applicants? So far it looks like the applicants will be informed about further steps via e-mail within the upcoming week. On the brighter side, Kyoto Animation and Animation DO are holding an intensive professional training course from November 20 to December 18.

About the KyoAni arson attack:

Shortly after 10:30 AM JST on July 18, 2019, a fire broke out at Kyoto Animation’s first studio. It was reportedly caused by 41-year-old Shinji Aoba pouring gasoline inside the building and he later admitted to committing the arson. The fire caused the death of 36 individuals out of the 71 present in the building. The suspect himself was also injured in the fire and required treatment from a local hospital.

About Kyoto Animation Awards:

Since 2009, Kyoto Animation has hosted the annual Kyoto Animation Award to find new stories, later publishing them in their KA Esuma Bunko imprint. Winning submissions have a chance of being adapted into an anime. The cash prizes for the winners are about ¥300,000, and cash prizes for honourable mentions are ¥ 100,000. Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, Free!, Beyond the Boundary and Myriad Colors Phantom World were based on novels that received an honourable mention in this competition. In 2014, the novel Violet Evergarden became the first work and so far the only one to win a grand prize in any of the three categories. According to Dani Cavallaro, Kyoto Animation has become recognized for its high production values and “sensitivity to the wonders and quandaries of ordinary life”.