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The 7th Annual Japanese Otaku Awards were presented before a standing-room-only crowd at Tokyo’s Loft/Plus One hall on January 5. The organizers describe it as an informal “event of the otaku, by the otaku, for the otaku” to commemorate the things, people, and events that left a lasting impression on the otaku world in the past year. A panel of eight judges, led by novelist/manga creator Hōsai Tsuruoka and columnist/radio commentator Shunichi Karasawa, first nominated several entries in fields ranging from paranormal phenomena to fujoshi (boys-love otaku) interests. Then the panel held a free-form discussion to determine the winners of the awards presented by each judge, as well as one Grand Prix winner.

Grand Prix: Video-sharing sites (Example: Nico Nico Douga)

Hidekuni Shida Award: The Idolm@ster (the videogame that loosely inspired the Xenoglossia anime)

Dorii Osaki Award: Blade Runner 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition

Naoki Ishiguro Award: Seto no Hanayome

Hisashi Maeda Award: School Days

Harayasa Tōkaimura Award: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone

Masumi Kurata Award: Kamen Rider Den-O

Shunichi Karasawa Award: The UFO debate in the Japanese Parliament

Hōsai Tsuruoka Award: Regular Kyaku no Kobayashi-kun

Animedia Award: Yasai no Yousei - N.Y. Salad

While they ultimately did not win awards, the live-action Transformers movie, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, Dennō Coil, Lucky Star, Jump Square, the PlayStation 3 game console, Miku Hatsune, and Toshio Okada all came up during the freeform discussion. The Otaku Awards event will be broadcasted on Japan’s Mondo21 satellite channel in two parts on January 26 and 27.

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