Animax contest drives anime growth in Asia

Animax Asia has completed a regional initiative aimed at growing awareness of animation, announcing winners of its 'See your story come alive' storyboard competitions in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Developed in conjunction with Singapore's Media Development Authority, the contest generated 130 entries from aspiring animators, who submitted storyboards to be judged by a panel including Japanese animation legend Yasufumi Soejima.

"As the only 24-hour animation channel in Asia outside Japan, we take it upon ourselves to grow the interest," said SPE Networks reg-ional executive director of marketing Vincent Sim. "The interest is there, but the outlets need to grow and we want to fuel excitement and take a leadership stance in driving anime and translating that into viewership."

The winning storyboards will be developed into short vignettes by Singapore's Scrawl Studios, and will air on the channel from September.