Chapter 523: Achievements of the Anime Awards

Chapter 523: The Fruits of the Animation Awards

Weibo had long been abuzz with trending topics about the Shanhai Animation Awards, and at 5 PM on the 22nd, another hot topic emerged: #ShanhaiAnimationAwardsRedCarpet#. As the red carpet began, netizens and media accounts continuously uploaded and refreshed photos of the red carpet show.

The appearance of the e-sports trio sparked the first wave of heated discussion. Online, there had long been tales of the "grudges and entanglements" among these three. Recently, because Shi Shiwu and Meng Fan had grown close, there was no shortage of jokes about Meng Fan being the "fourth wheel." Now, with the three buddies appearing together on the red carpet of the animation awards ceremony founded by Meng Fan, netizens' imaginations ran wild.

Before the excitement could fully unfold, Meng Caiwei and Sister Shiyuan appeared. Let's not even talk about the trending topic section—the latest explosion was definitely at the scene and in the livestream.

The red carpet was livestreamed, as was the awards ceremony. This time, the livestream was hosted on 8 Station.

"I'm going crazy!"

"It's Sister Shiyuan! Ahhh! What kind of divine pairing is this!"

"What's there to be surprised about? There were rumors online long ago that Sister Shiyuan and Queen Meng Caiwei were good friends. During the Olympics, they often appeared together to watch matches!"

"Damn, the promotion can go explode! Why was there no announcement that Sister Shiyuan would appear?"

"You guys are so funny! When did the promotion for this animation awards ever mention a single star outside the animation circle? Was there any announcement that Meng Caiwei would appear?"

"This is what I respect most! The entire focus was on promoting animation professionals, not these super big-name celebrities!"

"Haha, I think Iron God's meaning is simple: no matter what star comes here, they're just background foliage!"

"Meng Caiwei's cosplay is way too cool!"

"A-level to the max!"

"Clearly it's D-level, okay? (Dog head for safety)"

"Facing an Iron Sister like this, I'm totally game!"

"Me too!"

"I just want to go to the scene!"

"Hehe, I'm at the scene! Actually, it's nothing special, nothing to see! Isn't it just an animation festival? I wished with twenty years of my life to get a ticket."

"Enough said, Queen Meng Caiwei and Sister Shiyuan are walking toward me! I'm willing to wish with another twenty years of my life to get their autographs!"

"I don't even know if I should wish for your dream to come true!"

The red carpet surprises certainly didn't stop at the anime CP cosplayed by Meng Caiwei and Sister Shiyuan. Over the next hour-plus, the red carpet continued with surprises and screams, as animation professionals and celebrities appeared in interwoven or even combined groups. Both fans and media received a full measure of goodwill and joy.

Of course, for many of the celebrities who came to attend, they also received "goodwill." The media and fans on both sides of the red carpet, as well as the real-time trending topics online—these were all the "goodwill" they wanted. As for those who didn't make it to the ceremony or weren't invited, they could only envy this goodwill.

Today's hot searches and trending topics were all dominated by the Shanhai Animation Awards. No matter what else stirred up, it was hard to shake this "goodwill."

The red carpet ended, and the awards ceremony began. Whether on the red carpet or at the ceremony, no matter how many stars came, the true protagonists of the night were always these comic professionals. The stars cheerfully and willingly served as background. What else could they do? Hadn't they seen the National Husband sitting obediently in the audience, applauding and snacking? Oh, and he wasn't just eating and clapping—he also went on stage once, temporarily roped in to present the Annual Best Anime CP Award along with Shi Shiwu and Lin Gengxin.

Speaking of awards, the setup was similar to most animation awards, but there were also some unique categories, such as the Annual Best CP Award, which was entirely recommended and voted on by fans.

There were nine major awards at the ceremony: Best Comic, Best Animated Series, Best Animated Film, Best Character, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Music, Best Voice Acting, and Best Impact Award. In addition, there were other awards, totaling fifteen.

Meng Fan, along with the heavyweight guests invited by Tencent Animation Network and 8 Station, also appeared during the award segments. Most of them had not walked the red carpet, such as the masters invited from Japan, including Oda, and the big shots from Europe and America. When these animation gods appeared at the ceremony, it truly sparked continuous climaxes. Not only fans but also many celebrities present were extremely excited.

Additionally, the award ceremony was not without performances. Aside from some singers who performed anime songs, most of the performers were professionals in anime music, including singers invited from Japan and North America who had performed famous anime songs—such as Kana Hanazawa, well-known to Chinese fans, and the theme song of *Despicable Me 2*, which made people want to dance, among others.

In summary, the scale of the Shanhai Animation Awards ceremony reached a very high standard in every aspect, and its ultimate impact met Meng Fan's initial expectations.

Not to mention anything else, the attention received by the award-winning works after the ceremony was telling.

The ceremony ended perfectly at 10:30 PM. Meng Fan and the others let out a long sigh of relief, then immediately perked up. The awards ceremony was over, but the animation festival continued. For them, the real test—or rather, the real harvest—would come after the ceremony.

Next, how many collaborations could be facilitated was the true significance of the Shanhai Animation Festival.

Meng Fan's goal was to help develop Chinese animation. To achieve this, merely founding an animation festival or awards was far from enough. This time, with so many domestic and international animation professionals gathered together, if they couldn't produce some "results," it would be a complete failure.

Three days later, the entire animation festival concluded. Most of the animation professionals from home and abroad left satisfied, while some stayed behind for further negotiations with potential partners. According to incomplete statistics—it was truly impossible to fully tally—the total cooperation volume reached between domestic and foreign companies over these days had reached the billion-yuan level.

Of course, no matter what, the biggest winner was undoubtedly Shanhai Animation Studio, followed by Tencent Animation Network and 8 Station. After this awards ceremony, these three parties would certainly engage in deeper strategic cooperation. One already achieved agreement was that the three parties would jointly establish a film company, focusing on adapting animation IPs into films. This newly established company would also collaborate with Hollywood animation giant Pixar, with plans to complete three animated films within five years.

(End of chapter)