A screen shot of the Malaysian animated series 'Mechamato', which has captivated a Japanese audience. It also picked up the 'Anime Fan Award' at the recent 2023 Tokyo Anime Awards Festival. Photo: Monsta
Mechamato The Animated Series, produced by the local animation company Animonsta Studios (Monsta), made history when it became the first non-Japanese animation to receive the "Anime Fan Award" at the 2023 Tokyo Anime Awards Festival (TAAF).
Monsta, in a statement, said the series qualified for the award after making its mark on Cartoon Network Japan and Netflix Japan last year.
Monsta chief creative officer Anas Abdul Aziz accepted the award at the four-day awards ceremony in Tokyo on March 10-13.
Anas took to Twitter to convey his gratitude to the people who voted for the series.
"Thank you to every single fan who voted for us from the whole Asia Pacific Region. We will continue to work hard and bring AniMY (animation Malaysia) to new regions and export our culture as well," he said.
The statement said Monsta is grateful that the family-friendly Mechamato has attracted an audience in Japan.
Anas added Mechamato Season Two has already finished its dubbing process for Japanese airing and Mechamato Season Three is now under production.
Mechamato Movie, which is currently ranked number one in the local animated film category, is making its rounds airing in Indonesia and Singapore cinema chains as it has been dubbed fully into English.
Previous "Anime Fan Award" winners at the TAAF include Uta No Prince-sama in 2020, Yuri!!! On ICE in 2018 and 2017 and Idolish Seven in 2021 and 2022. – Bernama
