Yahoo! Japan recently held an awards ceremony called Yahoo! Japan’s 2016 Search Awards to give recognition to various subjects that have raked in the most number of searches for this year. It gives out awards to people, companies, games, and productions for various categories. The popular ones who won included Pikotaro's “PPAP” song, Makoto Shinkai’s “Your Name” movie, and the “Pokemon” franchise.
The Yahoo! Japan Search Awards is an annual event that commemorates a lot of people and productions that have enjoyed and experienced the overflow in online searches through Yahoo! Japan. This year, it has given out 16 awards. The categories ranged from arts, culture, and entertainment.
Pikotaro’s viral song, “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen”, otherwise known as “PPAP” has received the Most Popular Search award for creating quite a buzz. The “PPAP” song was penned by Daimaou Kosaka, who portrays the fictional singer character, Pikotaro. The music video of the said song was released on YouTube in August 2016 and became viral after garner more than 100 million views for its catchy tune. Hailed as the new “Gangnam Style” song, it has ranked in Billboard and other foreign music charts. It has even received recognition from the Guinness World Records for being the shortest song to chart in history.
Makoto Shinkai’s smash hit movie, “Your Name” also known as “Kimi No Na Wa” has received the Most Searched Film award for this year. The animated film unexpectedly became a box office hit that it surpassed James Cameron’s “Avatar” and several Studio Ghibli classic productions such as “Ponyo” and “Howl’s Moving Castle”. The film garnered so much attention that it has been slated to release next year in several theaters in North America as well as in certain countries within Southeast Asia.
Another notable feat comes from the “Pokemon” franchise as “Pokemon GO” has just been given the Most Searched Game award for this year. Niantic released the mobile game early this year and it has become the biggest mobile application of the year, surpassing the record of “Candy Crush”. The media franchise of “Pokemon” have been enjoying worldwide popularity since 1995 for its various adaptations that includes animated series, films, and video games.
