Studio Ghibli-themed photo contest is showcasing and giving away adorable Ghibli merch

”Metaverse”-style exhibition planned for entries to online photography competition.

A lot of Studio Ghibli fans are pretty visually creative people, which makes sense given the unparalleled amount of care the anime production house puts into how its movies look. So there’s likely to be some talented competition, and also plenty of beautiful entries, in a Ghibli photography contest that’s going on now.

The contest is being held by Benelic, the merchandising company that manages the Donguri Kyowakoku chain of Ghibli specialty stores. Donguri Kyowakoku goodies are both the subject and the prize of the contest, as Benelic is looking for fans’ best photos of the chain’s Ghibli character finger puppet series.

▼ Like these adorable guys

Entries will be judged on how artistically they represent one of the three themes of the contest, “Spring,” “Sky,” and “Shopping” (the triple S is just a happy linguistic coincidence, since they’re listed as haru/春, sora/空, and shoppingu/ショッピング in Japanese). “Shopping” might seem like an odd shift in that sequence, but it makes sense not just because of Donguri Kyowakoku’s involvement, but also because of where the photos entered in the contest will be displayed.

Donguri Kyowakoku is one of the partners in the Sora no Ue Shopping Mall “metaverse”-style shopping center venture. Part of the virtual facility is an exhibition hall, and visitors can walk through the digital gallery and admire the entry photographs.

The entrants who submit the winning photos for the three themes will each receive a Donguri Kyowakoku acorn canister (donguri is the Japanese word for “acorn”), nicely sized to store finger puppets, a zippered Totoro pouch, and a certificate of commendation adorned with acorn illustrations.

Entries are being accepted between now and April 7 by email, with contestants asked to send their photo to @benelic-de.com and to include a title for the picture, which theme they’re entering it for, and their name or pseudonym. Photos will be on display in the virtual Sora no Ue Shopping Mall’s exhibition hall from April 14 to May 31.

Meanwhile, if you’re more confident in your writing talents than your photography ones, KFC Japan has a contest going on that’ll let you flex those creative skills.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku, PR Times
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