150th Anniversary Animation Wins Silver Prize at Kyoto Ani-Monozukuri Award 2025
An animated film commemorating Shimadzu Corporation’s 150th anniversary has won the Silver Prize in the Original Content category at the Kyoto Ani-Monozukuri Award 2025.
Director Tetsuo Tokuno took the stage at the awards ceremony
Honored Work: Shimadzu Corporation 150th Anniversary Animation
About the Ani-Monozukuri Award
The Ani-Monozukuri Award recognizes works created through collaborations between companies or organizations and anime, manga, or characters. This year marks the eighth time the event has been held. Companies and organizations submitted a total of 99 entries from across Japan. The winning works in six categories were announced on September 20 at the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair 2025 (KYOMAF).
The Highlight of the Work is the Manned Balloon Flight
A Symbol of Challenge for Shimadzu Employees
This four-minute animation depicts Genzo Shimadzu, the founder of Shimadzu Corporation, from the perspective of his employee, who works alongside him as he challenges himself to build a manned balloon that will fly, all against the backdrop of 1877 Kyoto. Genzo Shimadzu Sr. successfully achieved Japan’s first civilian manned balloon flight on December 6 of the same year. According to records, the balloon carried one man and rose about 36 meters into the air, drawing cheers from the 48,000 spectators.
Because of this history, the manned balloon flight has been regarded as a symbol of challenge for Shimadzu Corporation employees and is cherished even to this day. Therefore, this animation portrays the balloon flight scene with particular attention to detail. Before the flight, the skies are overcast and snow is falling, seemingly symbolizing the hardships and anxieties faced by Genzo Shimadzu Sr. After the successful flight, the sun emerges, and the snow sparkles brilliantly, shimmering beautifully like a rainbow.
Project members at the award ceremony. From the left: Asako Sakawaki, Creative Director at ADK Marketing Solutions Inc.; Shota Harada, Director at Studio KAI; Hirokazu Fukumori, Animation Producer at Studio KAI; Tetsuo Tokuno, Director; Naoki Ito, Masakazu Akechi, Yuto Uchida, and Rie Nakata of Shimadzu Corporation
Project Members Share their Delight
Director Tetsuo Tokuno
This was my first time directing, and it was a challenge for me. To depict early Meiji-era Kyoto, a period for which few records exist, our whole team walked around the city. We created the animation from a series of miraculous encounters and discoveries. Just as Genzo Shimadzu Sr. succeeded in flight by keenly observing the structure and function of a balloon from just a single drawing, I found many parallels and projected myself into the process while creating this work. This award truly reflects the dedication of Shimadzu Corporation employees who carry on and embody the spirit of Genzo Shimadzu Sr. Though our fields of work may differ, I will continue to support Shimadzu as a fan of the group.
Producer Hirokazu Fukumori (Studio KAI)
My main role as producer was staffing the animation team and deciding who to assign to which task. I also managed the production schedule.
Working on this project was incredibly enjoyable, thanks to the high level of enthusiasm for the work shown not only by the animation team but also by everyone at Shimadzu Corporation and ADK. I feel that the result is a powerful and passionate work.
I am truly delighted to receive this award, as I believe it was earned by the dedication and passion of everyone involved in this project, now captured in the final animation.
Creative Director Asako Sakawaki (ADK Marketing Solutions Inc.)
I was involved from the perspective of an advertising agency creative. My role was first to digest the ideas and thoughts of all the project members and to create the storyboard—a unifying guideline for everyone, starting with Director Tokuno and the entire Studio KAI crew. Through numerous meetings with Shimadzu Corporation employees, I frequently sensed the spirit passed down from Genzo Shimadzu Sr. I wanted to capture every drop of that spirit in the film, so I followed the production process over the course of about a year.
It was very moving for me that Shimadzu Corporation, which encouraged Kyoto through its manufacturing excellence, received this Kyoto Ani-Monozukuri Award right here in Kyoto.
Naoki Ito, Shimadzu Corporation
When I thought about what kind of digital content could engage all our employees, anime, something that I love, came to mind. The process of creating an anime hand-in-hand with passionate creators was a really enjoyable experience. I believe animation has the power to connect people across generations and borders. Just as this project bridged two different worlds—manufacturing and animation—I hope it will also connect Shimadzu’s customers and employees with one another.
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