Torek Prize Announces First-Round Nominees; Comedy Duo Shiomibashi Gets First-Ever Nod in Special Category

The Torek Prize committee held a press briefing at its Kyobashi office on the 19th and released the first-round longlist — roughly five entries per category — ahead of the main award announcement next January. The finalist shortlist is due in early December, with the main ceremony set for January as usual. The committee chair said, "The field of streaming-only works was especially deep this year, and judging took longer than in past years."

The animation category includes Haruna Mochizuki, 24, who stars in Tomoshibi Animation's new series "Tomoshibito," previously reported as debuting on Sept. 12. She voices a boy who inherits the job of lighting the lamps in a fictional city modeled on Lineage 7, "the Lit City" — her first lead animation role. "I've made it my principle never to act as if I understand something I don't," she told this paper, laughing. "The nomination still doesn't feel quite real. I'm still half in disbelief, same as the boy I play."

Hikari Shinomiya, 27, the heroine of the morning drama "The Window House," whose previously reported omnibus special is currently airing, made the lead actress category. A Drifter half whose only nonhuman features are her ears and tail, she reportedly kept the press conference light with her usual candor. "I'm glad to be nominated," she said, "but honestly I'm more curious how the omnibus ratings turn out."

The biggest talking point of the announcement was the first-ever nomination, in a newly created special category, of comedy duo Shiomibashi — a human paired with a cleaning-type non-humanoid robot, previously reported. The committee explained the new category was created "in response to a growing number of acts that pair humans and robots in ways that don't fit the existing categories." The human half of the duo told reporters, "We never imagined we'd get the call. When I told my partner, it just gave its usual two-chime sound." Touching on the robot law council's ongoing "quasi-personhood" debate, he added, "Whether something counts for an award or not is a question I'd like to keep on a separate shelf from the legal question. For now, I just want to enjoy having been called."

According to the committee, the finalist shortlist is due in early December, with the main ceremony expected in January. As previously reported, Ren Kujo, 34, has won the lead actor prize before for an earlier film, and does not appear on this year's longlist, though an official said, "Depending on when his next project is released, there's every chance he could be in the running again next year."

The 19th happened to be the same day King Kaie III of Rukai arrived in Tokei, previously reported, but the committee chair explained, "The announcement date was set half a year ago. It has nothing to do with the visit." Still, since Kaie III himself is known, as previously reported, to be the "streaming king" with a keen interest in entertainment news, staff at the office reportedly traded some light chatter about how curious they were to see how the king would react to this year's longlist. "That's purely an aside," the chair added with a laugh.

Behind the growth in nominees across categories this year is the rise of streaming-exclusive works, according to one industry source. "Until a few years ago it was mostly theatrical releases and television broadcasts, but now streaming-born works have a presence you can't ignore. Shiomibashi's nomination only became possible within that shift," the source said. The committee said it reviews the shape of its own categories against reality a little each year, and further new categories or mergers are possible in years to come.