Categories, Voting, & Awards
Once videos are submitted, RICE participants suggest which categories (and their names) should be used during the event. These can range from common categories like "Drama" to more obscure/funny ones like "Most Dogs."
The top voted-for categories will be the ones that receive awards at the end of the event.
The amount of categories/awards scales with the number of video entries. Each winner of these categories will receive an award certificate. Awards are 5x7" (12.7x17.78cm) cards.
Category Award Scaling
≤ 49 videos → 7 categories
50 - 70 videos → 9 categories
71+ videos → 11 categories
Permanent Awards
In addition to the above category awards, there are some permanent awards:
-
Omurice (
オムライス・アワード) - Top Honors
This is the most-liked video overall, as voted on by RICE participants.
In next year's RICE, the winner is able to give their own Okonomi award to another video.
Receives: Certificate + Sticker -
Omakase (
お任せ・アワード) - Coordinator's Choice
The coordinator awards this to their favorite video.
Receives: Certificate + Sticker -
Okonomi (
お好み・アワード) - Previous Omurice Winner's Choice
The previous year's winner of Omurice gives this to their favorite video. It is similar to an honorable mention, and may have a different name when awarded.
Receives: Special double-sided certificate -
Umami (
旨味) - Theme
The Umami is the most-liked themed video. The theme is changed every year and is announced at the end of the previous year's RICE Awards video.
The coordinator chooses the theme, but the entrants ultimately decide what videos qualify and win Umami.
Participation in the theme is optional and has no bearing on the other awards.
Receives: Certificate + Sticker -
Okazu (
御菜・アワード) - Spectators' Choice
If there are 10+ spectators participating, they vote to award one video they liked the most.
Receives: Certificate -
Wandering Samurice (
ライス・ア・ロニン) - Wildcard Award
Entrants nominate videos to this category the same as any other. However, any videos that make finalists in other categories are excluded from Wandering Samurice's finalist list.
This results in an award for videos that otherwise did not fit in other categories.
It rewards exemplary videos without homes.
Receives: Certificate + Sticker -
Tamago Don (
玉子丼) - Top Non-finalist
Voted on by all RICE entrants, this is awarded to the most-liked video that did not make finals.
Receives: Certificate
Physical Awards
The award certificates are 5x7" (12.7x17.78cm) cards. Every award receives a certificate.
Some permanent awards receive a sticker in addition to the certificate. Those stickers are 4" (10.16cm) on their longest side, except for Omurice, which is 6.5" (16.51cm).
Awards are mailed globally from the USA in an A9-sized envelope. They are considered letter mail and should not be stopped by customs.
Voting Phases
Category Suggestion
Also called Category Submission or Nomination.
The form for this opens as soon as videos have been distributed, and it marks the official start of RICE. As participants watch the videos, they may categorize them however they like, or submit any category that comes to mind that fits at least a few videos.
All submitted categories will move to the next phase. There is no category limit at this time.
There are no limitations for what categories can be submitted. They may be serious or funny. There is a tradition of trying to make food-related names for the category, but this is not required.
Category nomination is public. Participants are able to see all categories that have been suggested as they are submitted.
A category need only be submitted one time to become part of the roster for the next round of voting.
Category Finalization
Once the deadline for category suggestion has passed, the coordinator gathers the submitted categories, discards any duplicates, and groups similar categories and category titles together.
Participants then use a new (private) form to submit their votes for which categories and/or category names they want to see in the contest. The top 7 - 11 most voted for categories/names will become the official awards moving forward.
Video Nomination
Participants vote on which videos they would like to see win all the category awards from the previous phase, plus Umami and Omurice. There is no limit to how many videos they can vote for. Videos may fit in more than one category.
The top 5 videos in every category become finalists and move to the next phase.
Finalist Voting
The top 5 videos (sometimes more due to ties) from the previous round are voted on again. The winners from this round will become the winners of the RICE awards.
Additionally, participants will vote on the following:
- Which non-finalist video should win Tamago Don
- The date and time the Awards show is most convenient
- If there are 10+ spectators, the spectators vote for which video should win Okazu