The 8th Annual Japanese Otaku Awards were presented at Tokyo's Loft/Plus One hall on January 8. The organizers have described it as an informal "event of the otaku, by the otaku, for the otaku" to commemorate the things, people, and events that left a lasting impression on the otaku world in the past year. A panel of nine judges, led by novelist/manga creator Hōsai Tsuruoka, first nominated several entries. Then the panel held a free-form discussion to determine the winners of the awards presented by each judge, as well as one Grand Prix winner.

Grand Prix

Kitarō

Gegege no Kitarō

Ryōta Fujitsu Award

Kurahon Kurata no Kuradashi

Harayasa Tōkaimura Award

Hidekuni Shida Award

Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G

Masumi Kurata Award

Junjō Romantica

Hisashi Maeda Award

True Tears

Hōsai Tsuruoka Award

Shinya Yamada Award

moe-kabu

Naoki Ishiguro Award

Dorii Osaki Award

Cloverfield/Hakaisha

anime (Hakaba Kitarō & 5thTV anime series)(by Read or Die's Hideyuki Kurata)Masaki Asai (figure modeler)gameanimeanimeTengirl (Tenga anthropomorphication)Everyone incompanies (Example: Production I.G)Aria comics & anime

The Otaku Awards event will be broadcasted on Japan's Mondo21 satellite channel in two parts on January 31 and February 1. The Grand Prix winners in the previous seven years are as follows:

Year Winner 2001 Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Mouretsu! Otona Teikoku no Gyakushuu 2002 Kaiyodo 2003 Mobile Suit Gundam Seed 2004 Moe Anthromorphism (In particular, Bincho-tan) 2005 Akihabara 2006 Ultraman 80 (from the live-action Ultraman Mebius special-effects series) 2007 Video-sharing sites (Example: Nico Nico Douga)

Source: animeanime.jp