The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) opened the polls for industry awards to the public earlier last week. Three finalists were chosen for each category and it is up to the fans to choose who will win the awards. Some notable categories are best Japanese and American actor/actress, and best character design. The voting will be held online only, and the winners will be announced at this year's Anime Expo Industry Reception, held at Los Angeles Convention Center.
We were asked to nominate individuals within the industry, but we missed the deadline. Though if we had made the deadline, I would have nominated Norio Wakamoto for best Japanese actor for his role as Emperor Charles Di Britannia in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2. "All hail Britannia!"
Click on read more for the full press release. Voting can be done here.
SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF JAPANESE ANIMATIONANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR THE 2009 SPJA INDUSTRY AWARDS
Public Online Voting to Begin at Noon PST on May 4, 2009
Anaheim, California (May 4, 2009) ‹ The Society for the Promotion of
Japanese Animation (SPJA), announces finalists of the 2009 SPJA Industry
Awards today and opens up ALL categories for public voting via both the SPJA
(www.spja.org) and Anime Expo® (www.anime-expo.org) websites. More
information can be found on the website
www.spja.org/spja-industry-awards/spja-industry-awards-polls/
Public voting for the 2009 SPJA Industry Awards will be held via online and
winners will be announced during the Anime Expo® 2009 Industry Reception
held on July 2, 2009 (during Anime Expo®) in Los Angeles, CA.
Leading the pack with 8 nominations is GURREN LAGANN (Bandai Entertainment)
followed by DEATH NOTE (Viz Media) with 6 nominations. Other nominations
include THE GIRL WHO LEPT THROUGH TIME, BLEACH, NARUTO, AFRO SAMURAI, THE
GIRL WHO LEPT THROUGH TIME and much more (see below for full list).
Category 01: Best Voice Actor (Japanese)
-Jun Fukuyama CODE GEASS - Lelouch Lamperouse
-Kappei Yamaguchi DEATH NOTE - L
-Katsuyuki Konishi GURREN LAGANN - Kamina
Category 02: Best Voice Actor (English)
-Samuel L. Jackson AFRO SAMURAI RESURRECTION - Afro and Ninja Ninja
-Dave Wittenburg - NARUTO - Kakashi Hatake
-Kyla Hebert - GURREN LAGANN - Kamina
Category 03: Best Voice Actress (Japanese)
-Riisa Naku THE GIRL WHO LEPT THROUGH TIME - Makoto Konno
-Maaya Sakamoto THE GARDEN OF SINNERS - Shiki Ryogi
-Junko Takeuchi - NARUTO - Naruto Uzumaki
Category 04: Best Voice Actress (English)
-Laura Bailey SHIN CHAN - Shin Chan
-Michelle Ruff - GURREN LAGANN - Yoko
-Michelle Ruff BLEACH THE MOVIE: MEMORIES OF NOBODY - Rukia Kuchiki
Category 05: Best Casting Director
-Jaime Simone - BLEACH
-Jaime Simone - AFRO SAMURAI RESURRECTION
-Kaeko Sakamoto - GURREN LAGANN
Category 06: Best Character Design
-Masaru Kitao of Madhouse - DEATH NOTE
-Yuji Iwahara DARKER THAN BLACK
-Daisuke Nakayama TWEENY WITHCES
Category 07: Best Mechanical Design
-Yoh Yoshirari - GURREN LAGANN
-Takeshi Takakura GENESIS OF AQUARION
-Niohiro Washio THE THIRD: THE GIRL WITH THE BLUE EYE
Category 08: Best Male Character
-Tamaki OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB
-L - DEATH NOTE
-Hei - DARKER THAN BLACK
Category 09: Best Female Character
-Rukia Kuchiki - BLEACH THE MOVIE: MEMORIES OF NOBODY
-Revy BLACK LAGOON: SECOND BARRAGE
-Sei Sato MARIA WATCHES OVER US (MARIA-SAMA GA MITERU)
Category 10: Best Mascot Character
-Mokona XXXHOLIC
-Kon - BLEACH
-Boota - GURREN LAGANN
Category 11: Best Backround Design
-Ogura Workshop - THE GIRL WHO LEPT THROUGH TIME
-GREEN HELL GIRL
-Minoru Nakamura of Studio Pierrot - BLEACH
Category 12: Best Original Video Animation
-KITE LIBERATOR - Media Blasters
-BALDR FORCE EXE - Funimation Entertainment
-LUCKY STAR OVA - Bandai Entertainment
Category 13: Best Feature Film
- THE GIRL WHO LEPT THROUGH TIME - Bandai Entertainment
- BLEACH THE MOVIE: MEMORIES OF NOBODY - VIZ Media
-VEXILLE - Funimation Entertainment
Category 14: Best Television Series
-SHIN CHAN - Funimation Entertainment
-NARUTO - VIZ Media
-GURREN LAGANN - Bandai Entertainment
Category 15: Best Original Score
- DEATH NOTE Score - DEATH NOTE - Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi
-MAD BOMBER - Aquarion - Yoko Kanno and Hokari Hisaaki - Victor
Entertainment
-EMMA: A VICTORIAN ROMANCE (Season 1) - EMMA: A VICTORIAN ROMANCE - Kanihiko
Ryo - Pony Canyon
Category 16: Best Original Song
-"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" - Bleach - Beat Crusaders - Aniplex Inc. - Beat
Crusaders
-"Undine" - ARIA The Animation - Yui Makino - Victor Entertainment - Mina
Kubota ( Music), Eri Kawai (Lyrics)
-"Combat" - AFRO SAMURAI RESURRECTION - RZA and P.DOT - Wu Music - R.Diggs
and N. Greenwood
Category 17: Best Director (Japanese)
-Tetsuro Araki - DEATH NOTE
-Mamory Hosoda - THE GIRL WHO LEPT THROUGH TIME
-Hiroyuki Imaishi - GURREN LAGANN
Category 18: Best Director (American)
-Karl Willems - DEATH NOTE
-Joe DiGiorgi THE THIRD: THE GIRL WITH THE BLUE EYE
-Mike Mc Farland ONE PIECE
Category 19: Best Manga - Action
-TSUBASA: RESERVIOR CHRONICLE - Del Rey Manga - CLAMP
-HELLSING - Dark Horse - Kohta Hiano
-BLACK LAGOON - VIZ Media - Rei Hiroe
Category 20: Best Manga - Comedy
-FAIRY TAIL - Del Rey Manga - Hiro Mashima
-TOKYO ZOMBIE - Last Gasp - Yusaka Hangkuma
-KITSUNE NO YOMEIRI - Kodansha Co., Ltd. - Takagi Satoshi
Category 21: Best Manga - Drama
-MONSTER - Viz Media - Naoki Urasawa
-KITCHEN PRINCESS - Del Rey Manga - Miyuki Kobayashi - Natsumi Ando
-GHOST TALKER¹S DAYDREAM - Dark Horse - Okuse Saki - Meguro Sankichi
Category 22: Best Publication
-Shonen Jump - VIZ Media
-Style School - Dark Horse
-Shojo Beat - VIZ Media
Category 23: Best Full Motion Video in Video Game
- AFRO SAMURAI - Namco Bandai
-FINAL FANTASY IV - Square Enix
-LEFT 4 DEAD - Valve/Electronic Arts Inc.
About Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit
organization with a mission to popularize and educate the American public
about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate
communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more
popularly known by its entertainment property Anime Expo®. More
information can be found at its website (www.spja.org <http://www.spja.org/>
).