The Anime of the Year, which is split between film and TV anime categories, are considered the most prestigious award in anime, and the winners will be announced in this year’s Tokyo Anime Award Festival. The announcement of winners will be made on March 21, 2016 at the at Toho Cinemas Nihonbashi.
The awards-giving body, which is made up of a few select members, have narrowed down the candidates for nominees from a pool which contained 489 titles. These titles are anime that were shown between the period of November 01, 2014 and October 31, 2015, and they have now announced the nominees for this year, and they are comprised of:
THEATRICAL FILMS
The Anthem of the Heart
The Boy and the Beast
Expelled from Paradise
Love Live! The School Idol Movie
TV ANIME
Mr. Osomatsu
Your Lie in April
Shirobako
One Punch Man
All eight nominees announced have gained quite a good following, and have been well received by both fans and critics alike. It seems like this year will indeed be a tough one.
Last year, the Anime of the Year Award went to Frozen for the film category, while the Anime of the Year for the TV category went to Ping Pong the Animation.