Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell: Innocence has won the Nihon SF Taisho Award for 2004 for best science fiction film.  The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan, a group that was founded in 1963, presents the award, which was won by the live-action movie Gamera 2 in 1996.

In the U.S., Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, which was released on September 17th, earned over a million dollars in very limited release -- it is the top-grossing anime movie ever in limited release of fewer than 100 screens.  The film was the only anime feature of 2004 that made the qualifying list for the Best Animated Feature Oscar (nominations will be announced in January, see 'Ghost in the Shell 2:  Innocence on Oscar List')).  The Ghost in the Shell: Innocence DVD will be released in the U.S. on December 28 (see 'Ghost in the Shell: Innocence DVD').