The judging committee for the Animation Kobe Awards announced the winners of this year's prizes. The awards were given as follows:

• Individual Award: Kunio Kato (La Maison en Petits Cubes)
• Special Award: Shunichi Yukimuro (Ashita no Joe, Dragon Ball, Kimba)
• Television Award: Eden of the East by Production IG
• Network Award: Tie - Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron Churuya-san by Kyoto Animation
• Theme Song Award: Don't Say "Lazy" by Sakuraou K-ON! Bu, ending theme of K-ON!

American film Wall-E was granted the Theatrical Film Award. According to the judging committee, no Japanese contender was "as completely paced with the sheer enjoyment of cinema" as Pixar's posthuman opus.

Shunichi Yukimuro is one of Japan's most prominent anime screenwriters. He drafted a number of prominent works, including Dog of Flanders, Getter Robo, and over 2,000 of Sazae-san's 6,000-plus episodes.

The Kobe Animation Awards are among the most prestigious awards in Japanese animation and media. The judging committee consists of a number of experts int he industry, including the editors of Japanese animation magazines like Animage and Weekly ASCII. Previous award winners include animator Mitsuo Iso and directors Hideaki Anno, Hayao Miyazaki, and Isao Takahata.