Show notes
Dylan Hysen, Delaney Stovall, Sam Quattro, Justin Cummings, and Michelle Anderer reveal the results to the 1st Annual OVA-ies Animation Awards!
Check out the winners and commentary for each category below as you listen along during the podcast, but don’t look below first!
Here are the winners of each category (in reverse order like we go through them on the podcast). I list the Winner (which was chosen by open popular vote) the Patron winner (which was chosen by a vote of just our Patrons and Co-hosts), and my choice for each category followed by my commentary on the results.
Individual Achievement Awards
Let’s start with these three individual production acknowledgements that were not voted on, but rather were determined out of suggestions from our Patrons and Co-hosts.
Achievement in Storyboarding: Lauren Zuke & Hilary Florido
No storyboarder or storyboarding team shined more this year than Lauren and Hilary who beautifully crafted the Peridot and Lapis arc, one of the most memorable all year. No team was more obviously instrumental in a single plot arc, as Lauren and Hilary storyboard and wrote every essential “Lapidot” episode, beautifully shaping the direction of their dynamic and relationship with hilarious moment after hilarious moment.
Achievement in Directing: Giancarlo Volpe
I’m definitely biased towards Giancarlo, who directed in all three seasons of my eternal favorite Avatar. I was so ecstatic to see his name pop up on Star vs. the Forces Of Evil this year and it coincided with a large leap in quality for the show, the largest of any show this year. Two Giancarlo directed episodes stand out in particular with “Mr. Candle Cares” achieving humor and characterization at an extremely high level and then the perfectly executed “Bon Bon the Birthday Clown”, which featured arguably the best production execution top to bottom out of any animated episode this year. Credit for that has to go to the director and I hope Giancarlo and the rest of the Star crew continue to take the show to new heights as its second season continues next year.
General Achievement: Rebecca Sugar
Another year, another triumph for Steven Universe which continues to firmly hold down its place as the best animated show on TV and was nominated heavily by our Patrons in these awards (19 times). Rebecca Sugar is at the heart of it all and has amassed a group on incredible talent that has crafted such wonderful characters, plot arcs, and themes that have resonated so deeply with many different types of people.
Now onto the open voting categories:
Best Animated Fight of 2016
- Alexandrite vs. Malachite from “Super Watermelon Island”, Steven Universe – 26.7%
- Bismuth vs. Steven from “Bismuth”, Steven Universe – 24.1%
- Star vs. Ludo from “Bon Bon the Birthday Clown”, Star vs. the Forces of Evil – 14.9%
- Steven vs. Amethyst from “Steven vs. Amethyst”, Steven Universe – 10.3%
- Voltron vs. Gladiator from “Return of the Gladiator”, Voltron: Legendary Defender – 23%
Winner: Alexandrite vs. Malachite
Patron’s Choice: Voltron vs. Gladiator
My Choice: Voltron vs. Gladiator
Alexandrite vs. Malachite was great, and one of several memorable fight sequences from Steven Universe this year, but I think it’s a shame not to give this category to the show with clearly the best action of the year, Voltron. The Voltron vs. Gladiator sequences was wonderfully executed. My 2nd choice here would be the stunningly creative Star vs. Ludo sequence from Bon Bon.
Best Animated Scene of 2016
- Garnet and Stevonnie Sing from “Mindful Education”, Steven Universe 35.3%
- Lapis and Peridot show off their Meep Morps from “Beta”, Steven Universe 10.6%
- Moana Restores the Heart, Moana 24.7%
- Star Sees Her Family’s Portraits from “Into the Wand”, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 10.6%
- Steven Confronts Bismuth from “Bismuth”, Steven Universe 18.8%
Winner: Garnet and Stevonnie Sing
Patron’s Choice: Garnet and Stevonnie Sing
My Choice: Steven Confronts Bismuth
The “Here Comes a Thought” scene from “Mindful Education” was maybe the most creative, inventive, emotional, and intricately executed scene of the year, and for that it deserves recognition, so it’s a good pick by the voters. For me it’s not nearly the best of the year though, as Steven confronting Bismuth was a shocking, impactful, and incredibly written scene that capped off the best episode of the year. I’ll take narrative over aesthetic gold any day, but the voters went the opposite way. (The end of Moana is maybe a wonderful combination of the two.)
Best Voice Actor from an Animated Show or Movie of 2016
- Auli’i Cravalho as Moana, Moana 22.7%
- Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl, Steven Universe 31.8%
- Eden Sher as Star, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 9.1%
- Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy, Zootopia 15.9%
- Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Steven Universe 20.5%
Winner: Deedee Magno Hall
Patron’s Choice: Shelby Rabara
My Choice: Shelby Rabara
Deedee did wonderful work again this year and always does, but this should be Shelby’s category for as long as Peridot remains the dominant force that she is on Steven Universe. Shelby’s performance is such an integral, intricate, and emotional component of Peridot and she shines in every episode Peridot is in. The same can be said for Deedee though so she’s certainly a worthy choice here as well. (Auli’i also received a lot of love from voters as Moana.)
Best Song from an Animated Show or Movie of 2016
Winner: “It’s Over, Isn’t It?”
Patron’s Choice: “It’s Over, Isn’t It?”
My Choice: “It’s Over, Isn’t It?”
These are 5 phenomenal songs but “It’s Over, Isn’t It” shined through with its powerful thematics, great vocals from Deedee Magno Hall, and a wonderful surrounding sequence in “Mr. Greg”. My 2nd choice for this category would be “How Far I’ll Go”, one of many incredible songs from Moana.
Best Animated Ship of 2016
- Keith & Lance, Voltron: Legendary Defender 5.6%
- Lapis & Peridot, Steven Universe 19.1%
- Pearl & Mystery Girl, Steven Universe 21.3%
- Star & Marco, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 23.6%
- Yuri & Victor, Yuri!!! on Ice 30.3%
Winner: Yuri & Victor
Patron’s Choice: Pearl & Mystery Girl
My Choice: Lapis & Peridot
This was a close race all week with all five deserving options having a shot at it. In the end, Yuri & Victor narrowly edged out Star & Marco. Yuri and Victor were notable for wonderful male-male romance representation in an anime that actually featured a queer romance, so it’s obviously a worth choice here. Star and Marco also would have been a great pick as they’ve had a wonderful long-term plot arc this season. My pick would have been Lapis and Peridot who also had a great year-long arc that featured some of the most memorable scenes of the year. My true pick though was snubbed in the nominations! Ruby and Sapphire were the couple of the year with “Hit the Diamond” and “The Answer” being the two best romance episodes of the year.
Best Animated Supporting Character of 2016
- Janna, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 12.9%
- Lance, Voltron: Legendary Defender 10.6%
- Maui, Moana 14.1%
- Monkey, Kubo and the Two Strings 11.8%
- Peridot, Steven Universe 50.6%
Winner: Peridot
Patron’s Choice: Peridot
My Choice: Peridot
This is a no-brainer. Peridot is once again the character of the year after seeing the fruits of last year’s great redemption arc. She shined on screen with Lapis and just about with every character she interacted with.
Best Animated Main Character of 2016
- Kubo, Kubo and the Two Strings 9.3%
- Moana, Moana 29.1%
- Pearl, Steven Universe 31.4%
- Star Butterfly, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 17.4%
- Steven, Steven Universe 12.8%
Winner: Pearl
Patron’s Choice: Pearl
My Choice: Star Butterfly
These were all strong choices and of course Pearl was incredible this year, especially shining in “Mr. Greg” and “Last One Out of Beach City”. I chose to put Pearl in this category instead of Supporting (the Patrons largely nominated her there) as I thought it’d be unfair for the likes of Janna to go up against her. Maybe it’s just as unfair for her to be in this category though, against my choice, Star, who had tons of development in several great arcs this year while appearing in almost every episode. Pearl’s ability to shine while only the focus of half (if that) episodes of Steven Universe shows the strengths of her character.
Best Animated Episode of 2016
- “Bismuth”, Steven Universe 18.4%
- “Bon Bon the Birthday Clown”, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 14.9%
- “Earthlings”, Steven Universe 11.5%
- “Mindful Education”, Steven Universe 25.3%
- “Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls”, Gravity Falls 29.9%
Winner: “Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls”
Patron’s Choice: “Bismuth”
My Choice: “Bismuth”
The Gravity Falls series finale is undoubtedly a good choice. It was definitely one of the best episodes of the year and a great cap to one of the best animated series of all time. My pick in this category is “Bismuth” by a fair amount though, which I think is absolutely incredible and one of the best animated episodes we’ve seen in a while.
Best Animated Film of 2016
- Finding Dory 4.7%
- Kubo and the Two Strings 17.6%
- Moana 42.4%
- Your Name 1.2%
- Zootopia 34.1%
Winner: Moana
Patron’s Choice: Moana
My Choice: Your Name
This was a particularly strong year for animated films and these are five great choices. My pick for this category was Moana until a few days ago. Moana is worthy winner here as it’s one of the best modern Disney animated films ever (the best?) with incredible animation, music, and a wonderful lead. I think Your Name is the best of the bunch here, and maybe the best film of the year in general. It’s stunningly gorgeous, incredibly emotional, and has some great character work.
Best Animated Show of 2016
- BoJack Horseman 6.7%
- Star vs. the Forces of Evil 11.1%
- Steven Universe 56.7%
- Voltron: Legendary Defender 8.9%
- Yuri!!! on Ice 16.7%
Winner: Steven Universe
Patron’s Choice: Steven Universe
My Choice: Steven Universe
Fittingly, the highest percentage of the vote in any category went to Steven Universe here. It wasn’t close and it shouldn’t have been. The other shows in this category are great but Steven Universe is the best show on TV and had its best year ever. That’s 7 out of 10 category wins for Steven Universe.
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