Congratulations to our Kawaii Kon VAST 2026 Video Art Contest winners!
Best in Showcase - Slice of Ice by SliceofLife
Showcase Runner Up - Strategy by Twister
Judges Choice - Distance by Josie Ø
Directors Choice or “The Gravity of Our Truths” Award - What We Carry by Moonpie
We’ll be mailing out your wooden plaques within the next 2 weeks to make sure you can still smell that burnt wood!
Below is the showcase playlist. You can also watch it on Kawaii Kon’s YouTube channel!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... FMu6iZ1RHy
Problem Solver by Sonicfreak1111 & Jose
Average Crush Experience by E_01
Who's Gonna Tell Him? by unaccetpable
Distance by Josie Ø
Kill Zenin by meleechampion
Sunsetz by Chiterra
Thalassa Shell by Seasaltmemories & Spuddstaaa
Where the adventure ends by Nashironeko
To a Kinder World by MarikoAMV
What We Carry by Moonpie
Fallen for the Fire by Rider4Z
Falling in Love by Takeshi
Raidenverse by CalvinCShinobi
Shatter Me by Tbatz
wake* by AbyssBreakingStudios
What We Found In The 86th Sector by ShadowCore AMV
Dioramic Odyssey by Kisanzi
Slice of Ice by Slice of Life
Memehito by SQ & BoxJoe
Mifune Nights: The Ballad of Speed Racer by Ileia
Rose Bouquet by xmissleti92x
Idol Infatuation by Xunvest
Strategy by Twister
RATATA by Elixir
And last but not least, here are lexx and coco Coordinators’ Cut choices! (our short version of an overflow/non-finalist showcase)
lexx’s choices
Take on the World by MarikoAMV
The Vertical Expression of a Horizontal Desire by SilkAMV
bRRRomance by AngelicDaze
coco’s choices
One Step Away by Takeshi (lexx liked this one too!)
Yet by Tyken
Start Again by SliceofLife & Elixir
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FINALIST ANNOUNCEMENT - March 20, 2026
Congratulations to our finalists! Emails have been sent! See who takes home the wood at Kawaii Kon on Saturday April 25, 2026!
Here are the list of editors in alphabetical order with buma's random pseudonym for your vid:
AbyssBreakingStudios - The Light
CalvinCShinobi - Git Ur Gameface On
Chiterra - Beautiful Magic
E_01 - "Do You Love
Me?"Elixir - <machine gun sounds>
Ileia - "Eleven"
Josie Ø - Stone Stumble
Kisanzi - Dead Dogs 4
MarikoAMV - Questionable Personal Hygiene
meleechampion - Unfinished Business
Moonpie - geekweb6610
Nashironeko - Penguin Claims Iceberg
Rider4Z - "GIT BEVVER SWOON
"Seasaltmemories (collab) - Dusters + Ice Cream
ShadowCore89 AMVs - Clockwork Bluebirds
SliceofLife - Cold Cuts
Sonicfreak1111 (collab) - Outlined Rainbows
SQ (collab) - Don't call me 'Dave'
Takeshi - Classic Romance
Tbatz - E=mc[2]
Twister - Step 4 =
unaccetpable - Under-eye Beauty Spot
xmissleti92x - "Awanodo"
Xunvest- #1 "Fan" Girl
ALSO! There were so many great videos this year that coco and I wanted to showcase more! These editors videos below didn't make the finalist cut but have been chosen to be showcased right after the contest at our Coordinators' Cut panel!
AngelicDaze - Piggyback Guns Akimbo
Elixir (collab) - Random Access Memories
MarikoAMV - "I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!"
SilkAMV - Cool Moves on a Hot Floor
Takeshi - Stained Glass Angel
Tyken - Three-Wheeled Sweep
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Hi everyone!
Your favorite Hawaii contest is back~
Kawaii Kon’s VAST Video Art Contest is open for submission!
Now you’re all probably wondering what the heck happened to buma (again)?! Don’t worry he’s still here. I’m just taking over because…he let me…? Some of you may have seen me around on Discord in BentoVid - I’m lexx!
Here’s the 411 so y’all don’t think I just showed up out of nowhere…
I’ve been with Kawaii Kon since 2008 and managed the Video Rooms since 2012. In 2013, I became a judge for the VAST Video Art Contest and helped with various behind the scene things for VAST ever since. Then I did some VAST contest openers and what not since 2023 and virtual kon.
Ok enough about me, please be kind as I figure this all out! Contest info is below!
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Kawaii Kon’s VAST Video Art Contest is back for its 19th year! This could be your year to win our custom laser-cut wooden plaques!
For 2026, Kawaii Kon will be held from April 24, 2026 to April 26, 2026. The finalists and winners of the VAST Video Art Contest will be showcased on Saturday, April 25, 2026. All submissions are pre-judged. Finalists will be notified by email. Winners will be announced at the end of the showcase on Saturday.
We generally follow the A-M-V.org CONGRSS Rules
To view our full contest rules for 2026 go to our website here.
PLEASE READ!
The deadline is SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2026 11:59 PM HST
Enter your submission via our Google form here
The quick and fast summary:
- No more than 2 videos can be entered per editor. MEPs are accepted.
- Keep it PG-13! No adult-only themed videos.
- All forms of video art can be entered. We are not anime exclusive.
- Preferred length is 1 to 4 minutes, but not a requirement
- Videos that were submitted to previous VAST Video Art Contests are not eligible.
- In general, the awards are as follows: Best in Showcase, Showcase Runner-up, Judges Choice, Directors Choice
