TAAAF2025: "Look Back" and "freezing" win prices, "Gegege No Kitaro: Birth" receives anime fan price

At the international animation film festival Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2025 (TAAF2025), the winners in the Anime of the Year category were announced. The film Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto won the award in the theatrical film category, while the TV series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe was honored in the TV series category.

In the individual categories, the following winners were recognized:

- Best Screenplay: Hiroyuki Yoshino for GeGeGe no Kitaro: Birth – The Mystery of GeGeGe

- Best Director: Kiyotaka Oshiyama for Look Back

- Best Animation: Tohru Yatabe for character design and animation in GeGeGe no Kitaro: Birth – The Mystery of GeGeGe

- Best Art and Color Design: Mai Ichioka for art direction in GeGeGe no Kitaro: Birth – The Mystery of GeGeGe

- Best Music and Sound: Evan Call for the music in My Happy Marriage and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

The Anime Fan Award, determined by 21,316 fan votes, went to GeGeGe no Kitaro: Birth – The Mystery of GeGeGe.

The Tokyo Anime Award Festival, now in its 12th year, aims to nurture new talent, strengthen animation culture and industry, and enhance Tokyo's appeal as a travel destination. The festival will be held from March 7th to 10th in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo.

A total of 417 works released or broadcast between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024, were considered for the Anime of the Year awards. The winners were selected through votes by anime industry professionals as well as fan voting.