SUBMISSION FORM: https://forms.gle/1c3AhF6xDBy7xMUw6
San Japan will be including new and improved categories this year! Please read through the list as some category definitions have been updated or combined.
CATEGORIES
- Action - Videos with a heavy focus on intentional cuts that transform movement or chaos into compelling, high-impact visual experiences.
- Romance/Sentimental - Share the love! Showcasing moments that tug at the heartstrings.
- Rhythm/Dance - Edits focused on rhythm, form, and flow of movement.
- Drama - Serious or thrilling videos that tell a story/emotion.
- Comedy/Fun - Make us laugh, smile, and everything in between! Anything related to comedy, upbeat, or parody edits of existing trailers/commercials (or other similar media).
- Experimental - Non-traditional videos that embrace abstraction, creative freedom, and innovation to explore new forms of visual expression.
SPECIAL CATEGORIES
- Howdy, Neighbor! - Any entrants located in Texas, showing support to local editors.
- Theme Maestro - Video matches this year’s convention theme of Food
- Spread Your Wings - San Japan is proud to announce our collaboration with Crows AMV team! Crows members will work together to recognize one video that meets the following criteria: Bold and creative anime edits that stand out through originality, artistic vision, and striking visual execution through technical skill.
- Defining Voice - San Japan is proud to collaborate with guest voice actors Drew Breedlove and Felecia Angelle! Each VA will judge AMVs featuring anime/games they’ve voiced or contributed to. We will provide separate lists of eligible titles for each actor, and submissions must use content from those lists to qualify. If your AMV includes content from both lists, it may be considered by both guest judges. Winners will be selected by the VAs, along with commentary on their choices.
- Drew Breedlove Eligible Sources
Genshin Impact, Blue Lock, Wind Breaker, Vinland Saga, Trigun Stampede, My Dress Up-Darling, My Hero Academia, Spy x Family, Lord of Mysteries, One Piece
- Felecia Angelle Eligible Sources
Genshin Impact, Borderlands 3, Honkai: Star Rail, Street Fighter 6, Dr. Stone, My Hero Academia, The Devil is a Part-Timer!, Attack on Titan, Wonder Egg Priority, Dragon Ball, Assasination Classroom, Seraph of the End, Overlord
- Drew Breedlove Eligible Sources
- Deadline: July 8th, 2026 at 11:59pm CT
- Freshness rule: AMVs must not be premiered before April 10th, 2025
- We accept all forms of animation and video game content, including but not limited to:
- Anime (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean animated media)
- Video games (Kingdom Hearts, Genshin, etc.)
- Western cartoons (Avatar the Last Airbender, Arcane, etc.)
- A participant may submit up to two videos to the contest, but each video must be entered into a different category. An editor may enter a third video if and only if the third is submitted to Comedy/Fun or Experimental.
- Videos should not contain excessive violence, language, or content that would place it above a PG-13 rating. AMVs are allowed at max 1-2 curse words, however racial slurs and other derogatory language aimed to denigrate or unfairly harass others is barred from the contest.
- Nudity, sexual content, or excessive gore/violence will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but will usually get you disqualified.
- All submissions must be sent through a cloud-based file sharing service that is accessible to the public (Google Drive, Dropbox, Mega, etc.). YouTube links will not be accepted. We do not accept physical submissions.
VIDEO & AUDIO QUALITY
- Video length: Minimum video length is 1 minute, maximum video length is 5 minutes. Trailers are an exception and can be a minimum of 30 seconds.
- Videos should not contain watermarks, TV logos, studio bumpers, credits or texts that are unnecessary to the content or context of the video.
- Audio from videos should be mostly music unless it is a trailer/commercial edit.
- Videos should not contain subtitles that were not created by the editor.
- Entries should be of reasonable video and audio quality. Videos that have a resolution and frame rate less than 480p and 23.976fps may be disqualified.
- Videos must be in a format that can be read by VLC Media Player and Media Player Classic (mp4 and mkv files preferred).
- Files sizes should be kept small. Please keep files to be at max 2 GB.
Best of Category
Best of Special Category
Audience Choice
Judges Choice
Coordinator's Choice
Best in Show
Awards will be given out during the results screening or through the mail. Due to budget restraints, we can only send physical awards to those residing in the USA.
For any questions please email sanjapanamv@gmail.com