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Belle, Evangelion 3.0+1.0, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Nikuko, Sing a Bit of Harmony, More Nominated for 45th Japan Academy Film Prizes

The Japan Academy Film Prize Association for excellence in film announced the nominees for the 45th annual awards on Tuesday. The five movies that have been nominated for Animation of the Year are:

BELLE

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time

Gekijō-ban Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko

Sing a Bit of Harmony

Taisei Iwasaki, Ludvig Forssell, and Yuta Bando are nominated for the Best Music award for their work on the BELLE anime film. From live-action films of manga, Tokyo Revengers' Mio Imada and Honey Lemon Soda's Ai Yoshikawa were nominated for Best New Actress, while What Did You Eat Yesterday?'s Hayato Isomura was nominated for Best New Actor.

Producer Kyōko Ōbayashi, film art lettering designer Toshiyuki Sasatake, and animator Sadao Tsukioka will each receive a Special Award from the Association for lifetime achievement.

The following will receive the Chairperson Award for lifetime achievement:

• Mitsuko Kusabue (actor)
• Natsuko Toda (film subtitler)
• Teruyo Nogami (recording/Kurosawagumi production manager)
• Masako Nozawa (voice actress)
• Hanae Mori (costume design)
• Tsutomu Yamazaki (actor)

The recipients of posthumous Special Awards from the Chairperson for lifetime achievement are:

• Yasuo Ōtsuka (animator)
• Masato Hara (producer)
• Kunie Tanaka (actor)
• Sonny Chiba (actor)
• Shin'ichirou Sawai (director, scriptwriter)
• Tan Takaiwa (Toei and Toei Animation president and producer)
• Emi Wada (costume design)

Kyoto Animation and Toei Animation will receive the Shigeru Okada Award for "producing high-quality films that combine entertainment and art with unique creativity and advanced technology."

The Nippon Academy-Sho Association, a Japanese group roughly comparable to America's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Oscars fame, presents the Japan Academy Film Prizes every year. The nominees all receive "Awards of Excellence," but the actual top award in each category will be presented in a ceremony on March 11 at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo.

Movies are eligible if they opened in Japan between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021.

The Animation of the Year category was only created 15 years ago. Last year, Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train won the award. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Tekkonkinkreet, Ponyo, Summer Wars, The Secret World of Arrietty, From Up On Poppy Hill, Wolf Children, The Wind Rises, Stand By Me Doraemon, The Boy and The Beast, In This Corner of the World, Night is Short, Walk On Girl, Mirai, and Weathering With You were the previous winners. Before that, Studio Ghibli won the overall Picture of the Year Award for Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

Sources: Japan Academy Film Prize Association, The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web