The executive committee of the Tokyo Anime Award Festival (TAAF) announced that the event has permanently concluded following its March 2026 gathering. The organization confirmed that its official YouTube presence and X account will shut down on September 30, at which point the primary festival domain will transition into a static historical archive.
A Landmark Celebration Ends
TAAF originally launched as an autonomous competitive festival in 2014, serving as the direct successor to the Tokyo Anime Award honors previously held under the Tokyo International Anime Fair umbrella between 2002 and 2013. Across 13 standalone editions, the competition functioned as one of Japan's most prestigious barometers for commercial and artistic achievement in animation, bridging domestic studio productions with international independent shorts and student showcases.
The final edition, held from March 13 to March 16, evaluated qualifying theatrical and broadcast projects released between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025. Major honors distributed during the swan song event recognized both marquee franchises and individual technical crafts:
- Television Category: Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
- Feature Film Category: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle - Akaza Sairai
- Best Sound / Performance: Kenshi Yonezu, awarded for high-profile anime contributions including "Plazma" (Gundam GQuuuuuuX), "Bow and Arrow" (Medalist), and his dual tracks "Iris Out" and "Jane Doe" (featuring Hikaru Utada) for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.
Organizers detailed the timeline on the official Tokyo Anime Award Festival portal, marking the quiet closing chapter for an institution that chronicled two decades of modern anime history.
