The Year Fullmetal Alchemist Took the Crown Home

Fifth time back at Tokyo Big Sight, and the fair kept climbing: nearly 99,000 visitors and 256 exhibitors in March 2006.

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa took Animation of the Year, and Hiromu Arakawa, the manga creator behind the whole franchise, picked up Best Original Story on the same night. Michiru Oshima's score for the film won Best Music too. Not a bad sweep for one story.

The real fight was on television. Eureka Seven, Black Jack, and Mushishi shared the Notable Entry trophy, three shows that couldn't be more different from each other: a coming-of-age mecha drama, a rogue surgeon anthology, and a slow, eerie folklore series. Eureka Seven walked away with two more wins on top of that shared trophy: Best Screenplay for Dai Sato and Best Character Designer for Kenichi Yoshida.

Yoshiyuki Tomino, the director who basically invented the modern mecha genre with the original Mobile Suit Gundam back in 1979, picked up Best Director almost three decades later for Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation - Heir to the Stars. Some directors just don't slow down.

A Merit Award for Voice Actor also made its first appearance this year, going to veteran actress Mari Shimizu, recognizing a career rather than a single role.