■ Animation Kobe - Individual Award

AKITARO DAICHI

Director Akitaro Daichi was busy with a work currently under production and could not attend the Award Ceremony, but DJ Shizue Oda, who played Sana in "こどものおもちゃ", attended in his place. Also, a video letter from Mr. Daichi was screened in the hall.

■ Judge's Comment

Hello, I am [first name] Mizuma, editor in chief of Sony's AX magazine. First of all, heartfelt congratulations to Director Daichi for winning the Individual Award! It's really unfortunate that he couldn't be here today, but he's working on two projects at the same time--"風まかせ", a new TV program to begin airing in January, and the ongoing "今、そこにいる僕"--and just couldn't get away. As to why the Individual Award was awarded to Mr. Daichi, it goes without saying that he has created a string of highly original works mixing humor with seriousness, as you have seen in "おじゃる丸" "十兵衛ちゃん" and other works. With Ima Sokoni Iru Boku also, Mr. Daichi's message is quite clear when you've seen the whole series. As for the new series, we can expect the same vibrant direction showing true-to-life psychological states as he gave us in "こどものおもちゃ". For these reasons, the Judging Committe's decision in giving Mr. Daichi this award was unanimous, and I believe all of you here will agree with our choice!

■ Akitaro Daichi Comment on Video

Hello, everybody there in Kobe! This is Akitaro Daichi. I'm truly honored to have been granted the 4th Animation Kobe Individual Award. It's the first award I've ever won in all my life, so I'm pretty ecstatic! I love the city of Kobe, so I was really looking forward to going to the Award Ceremony, but I simply couldn't get away from work at this time so here I am, talking to a video camera instead. Who knew you could get so nervous talking to a camera! (laughs) Since I couldn't be there, I asked Shizue Oda, who I worked with for two years on "こどものおもちゃ", to go in my place. Hi, Oda-san, and good luck!The year I started working on "ナースエンジェルりりかSOS", which was my first directing job, was the year of the Kobe earthquake, so I'm sensing some kind of destiny at work here. And my feelings are a mixture of: wow, has it already been four years since then? and, what, has it only been four years since then? I still think of myself as a fledgling director, though, and I've still got a lot to learn, but I'll be using this award as an impetus to continue making even more fun and entertaining works. Thank you very much.

■ Shizue Oda Comments

Hello, I'm Shizue Oda. I'm having mixed feelings about hearing people in the audience laugh when "こどものおもちゃ" was mentioned. (laughs) It's a little strange, considering it's not a current show. In fact I hadn't seen Daichi-san in a while, but I ran into him recently at the wedding of Tomo-chan, who played Babbit in the show, and actually, the reason I'm here is that we were seated next to each other and he started out by saying, "Umm, Oda-san, I have this favor to ask you...," and I airily answered, "Sure, no problem! Kobe, right?" -- and well, here I am. The director told me that people who lost their families in the Kobe earthquake had written him letters saying the final episode of Lilika had given them a lot of strength, and that this had made him very happy. I used to do a radio show here in Kansai, and was here myself when the earthquake hit. The experience really made me think about life, or what it means to live, and one of the reasons I came today was to help people here in whatever way I can. I think Daichi-san's works are about laughter and life. Those two things are present in everything he's ever done. I try to convey a sense of laughter and life through the radio myself, so that's another reason I'm here today. My motto in life is, "You're rich just being alive!" I promise to pass this award on to Daichi-san! Thank you very much.