Hello everyone! Mango here again with the announcement of our 2026 AMV Contest!
Entries will be accepted until Saturday, June 20th, 2026 by 11:59 PM EST
Those who make finals will receive a pass for the entire Anime NYC weekend either in the year they make finals, or the year after!
The Categories
- Trailer: AMVs that are set to parody or otherwise utilize commercials, trailers, or other promotional media as the audio source for the video.
- Action: Videos that center on fast paced scenes and exhilarating moments in animation.
- Drama: Videos that focus on more serious or thrilling moods and stories.
- Romance/Sentimental: Videos that focus on more emotional sentiments such as romance, platonic expression, character growth, etc.
- Upbeat: Videos that are energizing, uplifting, and overall fun for the viewer.
- Comedy/Parody: Videos that make us laugh, a category that doesn’t need much explaining!
- AMV Shorts Showcase: A free for all fun for all, we will accept all short AMVs that adhere to our rules that have a minimum of 15 seconds, and a max of 1 minute. TikTokers welcome!
General Rules (Condensed)
- AMVs must not have been posted publicly before June 21th, 2025 by 11:59 PM Eastern.
- Anime NYC welcomes animation from all around the world, not restricted to Japan.
- A participant may submit up to two videos to the Main Contest Showcase, 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 or Trailer.
- Additionally, a participant may also submit 3 AMV Shorts.
- Our AMV Shorts Showcase has a minimum video length of 15 seconds and a maximum length of 1 minute.
- For the Trailer category, the minimum video length is 1 minute and a maximum length of 5 minutes.
- For all other categories, the minimum video length is 1 minute and 15 seconds and a maximum length of 5 minutes.
- Videos should not contain credits that are separate from the video duration; intros or outros will not be accepted under any circumstance. Videos that contain excess content will be trimmed by the coordinator. It is recommended that you ensure your video only contains what is necessary to the AMV.
- Files sizes should be kept small. Please keep files to a maximum of 2 GB. The coordinator will compress files larger than the indicated size using AMV Tool or other encoding software.
- Videos should not reference other events or contests.
Content Standards
- Videos should not contain excessive violence, language, or content that would place it above a PG-13 rating.
- Curse words are permitted in entries but should be used sparingly and must not dominate the lyrics or dialogue.
- Videos containing racial slurs and other derogatory language aimed to denigrate or unfairly harass others are barred from the contest.
- Symbols of hate or sensitive imagery such as Nazi emblems, KKK garments, and other religious/political symbolism are not allowed, no matter the circumstance or context.
- Nudity, sexual content, or excessive gore/violence will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but will usually cause disqualification.
Awards
- Best in Show, Category winners, and Category runner-ups are decided by the Anime NYC Attendees during the contest.
- Editor’s Choice is decided by all editors who submitted to this year’s AMV Contest.
- Hidden AMV Hits is awarded by Anime NYC’s AMV Team to videos that did not make it to the finals but deserve special recognition.
- Judge’s Choice is decided by the Judges of the AMV Contest.
- Designer’s Choice is selected by the Designer [xSkyIark] of Anime NYC’s AMV Contest.
- Coordinator’s Choice is selected by the Coordinator [ManlyMango] of Anime NYC’s AMV Contest.
To read the rules in full please refer to the official page.