Despite being one of the oldest Chinese media around, animation, as Guillermo del Toro once noticed, is "eternally on the verge of extinction". From infertile things leading to changes in the whole industry through strikes to New technology that changes animation forever every few decades And the main hungry, megalomaniacal and not -so -saving studio, they fail to recognize the timeless attraction and the success of the medium, Animation is constantly under attack (even as it continues to save the box office over and over).

Whether in the United States (where Hollywood players are closing production in the favor of outsourcing) or Japan (where AI is a real, tangible threat that has already adopted a larger study), it's a dark time to look from outside, let alone be part of the industry. In Japan, it is all at the top of the well -known and long -awaited crisis crisis and employees are exaggerated to meet extremely narrow deadlines (despite the general shortage of animators).

And yet there is still a reason to be optimistic, as when Little animated indie "flow" won the best animated feature Oscar Earlier this year. Now, I got the new hope for the future of the medium (or, at least, much needed new salt) from watching the Live Anime Anime Awards in Tokyo.

The Crunchyroll Anime awards were first held in 2017, with the ceremony moving from California to Japan in 2023. It celebrates all and all animated shows and films produced primarily in Japan, including a series of "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" (which, created by the CD project, but animated and made in Japan, is eligible), no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what,, no matter, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what,, no matter. That, no matter how, no matter how, regardless, regardless, regardless, regardless, no matter how, regardless, regardless, regardless, no matter how, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what. This is important, because Crunchyroll Hosting of the Awards is an approximately equivalent to what Netflix has performed, but you can still nominate and vote for non -distributed shows (like when the original Netflix "Devilman Crybaby" has won the best Anime).

Despite some controversial victories during the ceremony, the attendance of the awards and the view of the real animators that celebrate both their peers and fans around the world came as a sharp relief to me in the face of the many topics that plague the industry. The animation will always be at risk, but the animators will explore and continue to draw.

The biggest awards, in some or other form, prioritize the big stars at their ceremonies, even if that means having to shorten the speeches from Indian directors so that the actor can joke about having unprotected sex with his wife (Hi Kierran Kulkin!) or to make room for endless sketches. When it comes to animation, it's even worse, with the whole production being limited to just "Best Animated Film" or "Best Animated Show" categories awarded by producers or work directors of hundreds, if not thousands, people across many different departments.

Artistic directors, background artists and production designers rarely, if ever, receive a lot of public recognition, especially not at great awards events. Even when Emmy celebrates more technical categories, she transmits them to a separate show. There is also the "Best Individual Achievement in Animation", but even that is more than vague recognition that covers each individual aspect of animation.

This does not mean that the Crunchyroll Anime awards are perfect because they also send many technical rewards (as the best art in the background or the best characters design) of the ordinary post before the show. However, that is the best we got away, and it was pretty exciting and astonishing to be witnesses Great fantasy anime "Freen: End of Travel" on the trip " With great teddy bear from the title in his hands as his table is cheerful. During the ceremony, as directors, producers and voice actors involved in less mainstream shows (like "Makeine: Too Losing Heroines!"

Indeed, watching the audience go wild for nasty nuts while playing the hit song "Bling-Bang-Beng-Benja" by Anime "Mashl: Pags and Muscles" as they were regular fans of the concert-or footage of their tears with tears and happy to see them.

Anime is in trouble. Recently, the celebrated heritage studio animation toei ("one piece", "Dragon Ball") Posted Woulde are investing in AI to start using it in animation productions, threatening to destroy the beloved art form with heartless imitations. There is also a continuous problem of crisis, tight deadlines and overwork. Before attending the Crunchyroll Anime awards, I got the opportunity to visit the Anime Studio David Production ("Jojo's Bizarre Adventure", "Fire Strength") and to see the extremely hard work involved in bringing the beloved titles to life. A studio representative also talked about the long process of producing anime and as an episode of animation can last, on average, six months. (Keep in mind: Many of the most popular anime series come out with new seasons annually.)

No wonder some study cannot take it, and we end with situations like when "Titan attack" has changed his studios after three seasons and started using more CGI in the last season (Because the creatives of the show simply could not meet the impossible deadlines).

And yet, visiting David production and viewing of paper warehouses filled with schedule and key frames for stunning action sequences, along with the beautiful art they drew by hand (some on a computer, some on real paper), was also a reminder that this was a special art form. The animation was in trouble earlier, and things changed dramatically, whether during the shift in digital or the arrival of streaming. Things are serious now, but looking at the work put in this medium from the right people in the body, and then looking at how they get praise from their peers and fans, I also renewed the hope that the animation would be good at the end.