"A Man" leads the Japan Academy Film Nominations

by Nathaniel R

"A Man" received 13 nominations from the Japanese Academy.

Last year the Japan Academy Film prizes were had a slightly higher profile on this side of the pond due to the international success of Drive My Car (which was also popular with Oscar voters). This year, there's no Japanese breakout film unless you count popular anime titles but it's still worth sharing what the Japan Academy is loving. With 13 nominations Kei Ishiwaka's A Man (which premiered at Venice) is the film to beat and it's worth noting that it came out after the deadline for the Oscar submissions this year [updated] and also wasn't submitted by Japan in the new Oscar season. The Japanese ceremony was two days before the Oscars this year on March 10th. Here are the nominees and UPDATED TO INCLUDE THE WINNERS AFTER THE JUMP...

PICTURE

• Anime Supremacy! (10 nominations / 1 win) This comedy is about a newcomer to the industry competing to create the most popular anime title
• ★ A Man (13 nominations / 8 wins) A drama about a lawyer and his client who requests a background check on her late husband. REVIEWED
• Phases of the Moon  (10 nominations / 1 wins) A romantic drama about a widower
• Shin Ultraman (8 nominations / 4 wins) A silver giant appears on Earth to face an unidentified lifeform threat in this sci-fi remake
• Wandering Moon (5 nominations) Fifteen years after a university student provided shelter to a little girl (and was soon arrested for kidnapping) they both deal with the repercussions of their fateful friendship. This one is what in America we often refer to as an "actor's film" since it came up (mostly) blank in non-acting categories

DIRECTOR

• Kohei Yoshino,  Anime Supremacy! 
• ★ Kei Ishikawa, A Man 
• Ryûichi Hiroki, Phases of the Moon
• Shini Higuchi, Shin Ultraman
• Takashi Koizumi, The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai

The only director shut-out from the top prize nominee is Wandering Moon's Lee Sang-il... replaced here by Takashi Koizumi for a historical drama that was delayed for release for a couple of years. 

SCREENPLAY

• Anime Supremacy
• ★ A Man
• Phases of the Moon
• Plan 75
• Last Days of the Samurai

The writing category keep the same switcheroo as Director but also boots out Shin Ultraman for Japan's Oscar submission for 2022, Plan 75

ANIMATION OF THE YEAR

• ★ The First Slam Dunk (Takehiko Inoue & Yasuyuki Ebara) - a comedy about a delinquent who takes up basketball after meeting a girl who loves the sport
• Inu-Oh (Masaaki Yuasa) - A cursed dancer and a musician shake up stuffy society with rock opera concerts. REVIEWED
• Lonely Castle in the Mirror - teenagers are transported to a magical castle but dangers await them inside
• Suzume (also known as Suzume's Locking Up)  - a road adventure about a teenage girl and a mysterious man and doorways releasing disasters on Japan
• One Piece Film: Red (Gorô Taniguchi)  - A beloved singer reveals herself to the world at a live concert

One Piece Film: Red, Suzume, and Inu-Oh all played on US screens already. Lonely Castle in the Mirror  and The First Slam Dunk followed later in 2023 and are eligible for Best Animated Feature

ACTRESS 

Chieko Baisho in "Plan 75"

• ★ Yukino Kishii (first nomination) – Small, Slow but Steady
• Non  (2nd nom, 1 win) – The Fish Tale
• Chieko Baisho (7th nom, 1 win, plus 1 special award) – Plan 75
• Suzu Hirose (6th nom, 2 wins) – Wandering Moon
• Riho Yoshioka (first nomination) – Anime Supremacy!

This is a very young category with all the nominees but one between 21 and 30 years old. Chieko Baisho is the outlier at 81. She was a favourite of the director Yoji Yamada in the 1970s and 1980s and she's also done voicework on internationally popular anime titles like Howl's Moving Castle and Weathering With You.

Suzu Hirose could be a threat to win, too. She's a favourite of the Japanese Academy having won both the Newcomer Award for Umimachi Diary (2015) and this category for The Third Murder (2017). She is just 24 and this is already her sixth nomination.

ACTOR 

Suzu Hirose and Tôri Matsuzaka are both nominated for their leading roles in "The Wandering Moon"

• Sadao Abe (2nd nomination) – Lesson in Murder 
• Yo Oizumi (4th nomination) – Phases of the Moon
• ★ Satoshi Tsumabuki (9th nomination, 4th win!) – A Man
• Kazunari Ninomiya (4th nomination, 1 win) – Fragments of the Last Will
• Tôri Matsuzaka (4th nomination, 3 wins) – Wandering

In contrast to the current historic Best Actor race at the Oscars this is filled with past favourites of the Japanese Academy. 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Sakura Ando in "A Man"

• Kasumi Arimura (3rd nom, 1 win) – Phases of the Moon
• ★ Sakura Ando (4th nom, 3rd win!) – A Man
• Machiko Ono (4th nom) – Anime Supremacy!
• Nana Seino (first nomination) – A Man and  Kingdom 2: Far and Away
• Mei Nagano (first nomination) – Motherhood
• Honoka Matsumoto (first nomination) – It's in the Woods

You'll remember Sakura Ando from her incredible performance in Shoplifters a few years back. 

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Tasuku Emoto (2nd nomination) – Anime Supremacy!
• ★ Masataka Kubota (first nomination)– A Man
• Kentaro Sakaguchi (2nd nom, 1 win) – Hell Dogs
• Ren Meguro (first nomination) – Phases of the Moon
• Ryusei Yokohama (first nomination) – Wandering Moon

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Ren Meguro is double-nominated: Newcomer & Supporting Actor

• ★ Karin Ono – Anime Supremacy!
• ★ Hinako Kikuchi – Phases of the Moon
• ★  Riko Fukumoto – Even If This Love Disappears From the World Tonight
• ★  Meru Nukumi – My Boyfriend in Orange
• ★  Daiki Arioka – Shin Ultraman
• ★ Ichiro Banka – Sabakan
• ★ Hokuto Matsumura – xxxHolic
• ★ Ren Meguro – Phases of the Moon

 In this category all the nominees are automatically winners which is kind of a sweet way to do "newcomers" if you think about it. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• ★ Shin Ultraman
• The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
• A Man
• Kingdom 2: Far and Away
• Wandering Moon

The cinematography in Wandering Moon (its only "craft" nomination) is by the South Korean DP Hong Kyung-Po an incredible talent. He previously shot great looking features like Burning For Lee Chang-dong, this year's Hirokazu Kore-eada feature Broker, and three classics from Bong Joon-ho: Parasite, Mother, and Snowpiercer.

He's hardly without formidable competition from these other films though. One of his competitors is 85 year old Oscar-nominee Shôji Ueda (one of the cinematographers on Akira Kurosawa's Ran). He's nominated for The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai

LIGHTING DIRECTION

• ★ Shin Ultraman
• The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
• A Man
• Kingdom 2: Far and Away
• Wandering Moon

ART DIRECTION

• Fragments of the Last Will
• Anime Supremacy!
• ★ Shin Ultraman
• A Man
• Kingdom 2: Far and Away

EDITING

• Shin Ultraman
• The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
• ★ A Man
• Anime Supremacy!
• Kingdom 2: Far and Away

SOUND RECORDING

• Shin Ultraman
• The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
• ★ A Man
• Kingdom 2: Far and Away
• Phases of the Moon

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC

• Anime Supremacy!
• Whisper of the Heart
• A Man
• Phases of the Moon
• ★ Suzume

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

"Avatar" is well-attended all around the world

• Avatar: The Way of Water (US)
• CODA (US)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (US)
• ★ Top Gun Maverick (US)
• RRR (India)

It's all blockbuster movie-making with the exception of Sundance sensation and Oscar winner CODA. 

SPECIAL AWARD FROM THE ASSOCIATION

• One Piece Film: Red - the music team

AWARD FROM DISTINGUISHED SERVICE FROM THE CHAIRMAN 

• Shunya Itô
• Yüzô Kayama
• Hideki Mochizuki

SPECIAL AWARD FROM THE ASSOCIATION

• Masanobu Amemiya
• Shöhei Kawamoto
• Naomi Koike
• Yasuhiro Fukuoka

SPECIAL AWARD FROM THE CHAIRMAN

• Hideo Onchi
• Hiro'o Matsuda
• Mitsunobu Kawamura
• Iwao Ishii
• Kazuki Ōmori
• Yoichi Sai