Now that the 2026 Oscar nominations have been introduced, the movie group is counting down days till the extremely anticipated conclusion of one other exhilarating awards season on March 15. This awards season is especially thrilling as a result of 2025 was one of the best years in movie history, the very best lately, and each movie from 2025 appears deserving of accolades.
Nevertheless, as a consequence, the surprises and snubs among the 2026 Oscar nominations have sparked passionate debates amongst movie buffs, who all wish to see their favourite motion pictures succeed. This 12 months’s Oscars are amongst probably the most aggressive in almost a decade, and this raises each the stakes and the non-public funding of individuals within the consequence of the Academy Awards.
The result of one of many Oscar classes has appeared sealed for a lot of months now. When KPop Demon Hunters turned the most-watched film in Netflix historical past and its soundtrack broke Billboard data, it turned apparent it could win the Finest Animated Function Oscar. Nevertheless, regardless of the winner principally being recognized beforehand, the nominations in that class are nonetheless disappointing.
Solely One Non-Ghibli Anime Film Has Been Nominated For Finest Animated Function
Anime has been the most well-liked medium of animated storytelling for some time. It might appear to have solely discovered reputation lately, however that is not the case, particularly within the case of tv. Now, the Academy, in its storied historical past, has a well-documented tendency to prioritize and reward sure kinds and modes of storytelling greater than others.
The Academy’s historical past with anime, nevertheless, is a bit more sophisticated. Nearly everybody who loves the medium will acknowledge that Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have given us a few of the greatest motion pictures in anime historical past. So, the truth that Studio Ghibli motion pictures are repeatedly nominated for Oscars makes it appear to be the Academy Awards have been honest to anime.
But, in its 24-year-long historical past, the Finest Animated Function Oscar category has included just one anime movie that wasn’t made by Studio Ghibli. Mamoru Hosoda’s time-travelling anime film from Studio Chizu, Mirai, was nominated in 2019. There may be sufficient proof to recommend that there is bias from the Academy when nominating anime motion pictures for Oscars.
Chainsaw Man: The Film – Reze Arc Is Letterboxd’s Highest-Rated Film Of 2025
Amongst narrative movies made in 2025, on Letterboxd, Chainsaw Man: The Film – Reze Arc, with a 3.36 common ranking, is barely behind The Voice of Hind Rajab, whose common ranking is 3.38. In the meantime, on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 96% approval ranking and a 98% ranking from audiences. It is thus broadly thought-about the very best anime film of 2025.
The Chainsaw Man movie’s impact on Hollywood and its future can hardly be exaggerated after its report success on the field workplace. It is also cherished by critics, and this is without doubt one of the most uncommon cases when an animated movie is being thought-about the very best film of a 12 months. It’s a notably massive achievement in a 12 months like 2025.
Demon Slayer: The Film – Infinity Citadel Was Nominated For BAFTAs and Golden Globes
In the identical 12 months that Chainsaw Man: The Film – Reze Arc took the world by storm, one other anime film made historical past. Demon Slayer: The Film – Infinity Citadel, regardless of being a film as part of a franchise that’s primarily a sequence, was nominated for the Finest Animated Movement Image Golden Globe and the Finest Animated Movie BAFTA.
The Demon Slayer movie’s box office makes it a billion dollar franchise, however the extra shocking a part of its success story has been its unimaginable awards season. Nobody was anticipating a mainstream anime film to be nominated for main awards, however this proves that Hollywood has to create space for anime motion pictures now if it desires to remain related.
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Regardless of the groundbreaking success of each the Chainsaw Man film and the Demon Slayer film, the Academy has snubbed each movies. It’s true that the probabilities of KPop Demon Hunters shedding the Finest Animated Function Oscar are astronomical, however each anime motion pictures need to be nominated for the celebrated award. Being mainstream is clearly not why they have been snubbed.
KPop Demon Hunters‘ Finest Animated Function nomination and F1‘s Best Picture Oscar nomination show that the Academy is acknowledging mainstream cinema’s creative deserves. So, the truth that, regardless of having an ideal awards season, Demon Slayer: The Film – Infinity Citadel was snubbed proves the Oscars nonetheless have a bias towards anime motion pictures that haven’t been made by Studio Ghibli.
Why The Academy Wants To Embrace Anime Outdoors Studio Ghibli
It’s excessive time that the Academy modifications this irritating development that has alienated followers of anime through the years. Many have given up hope that motion pictures not made by Studio Ghibli or mainstream motion pictures which can be linked to main exhibits and sequence will ever be acknowledged by the Academy. Anime’s reputation makes this dangerous for the Academy Awards’ repute.
The Chainsaw Man film and the Demon Slayer movie being snubbed for Best Animated Feature are solely the latest cases. Anime is very fashionable with the technology that’s at the moment most invested in award exhibits amongst common film buffs. So, ignoring it may solely imply risking shedding main chunks of the viewer base that retains the Oscars related at this time.
