ANIMATION MUSIC VIDEO CONTEST

Anime NYC is thrilled to present our seventh annual AMV contest at Anime NYC 2026! No matter your favorite genre to watch or create for, you’re sure to find something to love at our AMV Contest. The Anime NYC AMV team submissions were closed on Saturday, June 20th, 2026 by 11:59 PM EST.  You will hear back on the status of your AMV by August 10th, 2026, at the latest.

AMVs submitted to our contest will be reviewed by a panel of judges who will come together to select 5 videos per category, 7 categories total, that will compete in our finals. These 35 finalists will then go head-to-head live during Anime NYC, where the audience will vote and choose the winners!

Each video submitted must fall into one of the following categories*: 

• Action: Videos that center on fast paced scenes and exhilarating moments in animation.

• Comedy/Parody: Videos that make us laugh, a category that doesn’t need much explaining!

• 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. 

• Trailer: AMVs that are set to parody or otherwise utilize commercials, trailers, or other promotional media as the audio source for the video.
  Note: This does not generally include AMVs that are edited as a pseudo-trailer for the media in question. 

• Upbeat: Videos that are energizing, uplifting, and overall fun for the viewer.

• 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!

• Note: our AMV Shorts Showcase is separate from our Main Contest Showcase, as all genres are allowed.

*Five videos in each category will be selected by a panelist of judges to be shown in the contest, with the Anime NYC Audience choosing the winners of each category and “Best in Show.”

DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Deadline: June 20th, 2026 by 11:59 PM EST

• AMVs must not have been posted publicly before June 19th, 2025 by 11:59 PM Eastern.
• Submission rules:
  • 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. 
  • This means an editor has the potential to enter a total of 6 videos [3 Videos to the AMV contest + 3 videos to the AMV Shorts Showcase]
  • These rules apply to collaborators of an MEP or Collab.
• Video length standards:
  • Our AMV Shorts Showcase has a minimum video length of 15 seconds and a maximum length of 1 minute. 
  • For the Trailer category minimum video length is 1 minute and a maximum length of 5 minutes.
  • For all other categories, minimum video length is 1 minute and 15 seconds and a maximum length of 5 minutes.
    
• Videos previously submitted to any Anime NYC convention year are not eligible unless they have been significantly altered, with over 50% of the scenes or content changed.
• Videos must not be created for promotional purposes by an industry partner or official entity (e.g., no official trailers produced for Netflix, Crunchyroll, or similar platforms).
• All entries must be submitted over a cloud-based file sharing service that is accessible to the public (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) YouTube or “streaming only” links will not be accepted.
• We do not accept submissions via physical media.

VIDEO AND AUDIO STANDARDS

• Videos must primarily feature animated media that is sourced from tv shows, movies, special featurettes, or video games. Videos that are primarily live action or cosplay edits are unfortunately not accepted.

• Anime NYC welcomes animation from all around the world, not restricted to Japan.

• • Videos should not contain (1) Watermarks, (2) TV logos, (3) Studio Bumpers, (4) Credits or Texts that are unnecessary to the content or context of the video. Videos will be reviewed and discretion will be utilized on a case by case basis. Furthermore, credits that are separate from the video duration will not be accepted under any circumstance.

• Videos that contain excess content as mentioned above will be trimmed by the coordinator.

• Files sizes should be kept small. Please keep files to be at max 2 GB for larger files, the coordinator will compress the file using AMVTool or other encoding software. Videos that are larger than the indicated file size will be compressed by the coordinator.

• We do not accept videos that use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate vocals or voice lines.
• Videos should not contain subtitles that were not created by the editor. However, captions or text that are created by the editor are permitted. (*Note: Captions should be “hard subbed onto the file”, not provided with an .ass file, so that there is a consistent viewing experience among the judges.)
• 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. 
• The audio of each entry should be mostly music, with the exception of the trailer/commercial style videos and AMV shorts.
• Videos must be in a format that can be read by VLC Media Player and Media Player Classic.

PARTICPATION AND PLAGIARISM

• Videos should consist of clips edited solely by the entrant(s) or group listed on the entry form. Entries found to have been plagiarized from other AMVs may result in disqualification and/or non-eligibility for future AMV events.
• In the case of collabs, MEPs, or videos edited by multiple people, each participant and a group name, when needed, must be listed on the submission form.
• All video editing and concepts must be your own.

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.

The Coordinator reserves the right to accept or reject any contest entry at their sole discretion. While this decision can be made for any reason, the Coordinator may, when possible, provide an explanation or justification for their choice.

SUBMISSION FORMAT

All videos must be submitted digitally via our application form. Submissions received in any other way will not be eligible. Services like Google Drive and Dropbox are free, easy to use, and highly recommended, but please ensure that the URL you provide is a “shared” or “public” link. If your AMV is available for local download on A-M-V.org, you also have the option of instead providing a link to its video information page.

The AMV Contest Screenings

Convention attendance is not required to participate in our contest, and will not improve your odds of winning or making finals. Only AMVs that received top ratings from our judges will be screened at Anime NYC, and winners are chosen by the Anime NYC audience.

Finalists and Anime NYC Badges
Each finalist will receive one complimentary badge for Anime NYC, valid for either the current year or a future Anime NYC convention. 

Contestants will be notified of their video’s status after the judging process is complete.

• 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.

• Coordinator’s Choice is selected by the Coordinator of Anime NYC’s AMV Contest.

Got it? Great! Throw some clips together and tell us a story!

Questions and comments can be directed to: [email protected]

Past year’s finalists can be seen on at https://anyc.amvawards.org/