Demon Slayer & Chainsaw Man Lose Big in the 2026 Oscar Nominations

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I was really surprised to see that neither Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle nor Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc made it into the Best Animated Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. Both films were huge successes, critically praised, and people were predicting they’d be nominated. But the biggest shock was that no anime movie was nominated at all this year. Honestly, looking at the final list, I think Elio and Zootopia 2 didn’t quite deserve their nominations as much as Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man did.

It was expected that KPop Demon Hunters would be nominated due to the film’s huge success and promotion. However, this raises the question of why the two top anime movies of the year, Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man, were overlooked. Both were significantly better than Disney’s animated films this year. This year’s Oscar nominations suggest the Academy doesn’t fully appreciate anime, instead favoring traditional Western animation and missing an opportunity to celebrate the wide variety of excellent animated films from around the world.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle & Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc Reviewed Better Than Almost Every Film Nominated For Best Animated Movie

Both Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc received exceptionally high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (98% and 96% respectively), performing better than all but one of the films nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain earned the highest score among the nominees, matching Demon Slayer‘s impressive 98%. KPop Demon Hunters scored slightly lower at 92%, followed by Zootopia 2 and Arco at 91%. Elio received the lowest rating of the nominated films, with a score of 83%.

The nomination of Elio is particularly disappointing, as Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man were more deserving. While Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Arco are worthy nominees thanks to their strong direction, Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man were directed just as well, if not better. The animation quality and artistry in Infinity Castle and Reze Arc are far superior to all other films nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.

There’s no justification for considering Zootopia 2, Elio, or KPop Demon Hunters superior to Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle or Chainsaw Man – The Movie in terms of directing, artistic design, or overall visual presentation. While KPop Demon Hunters is arguably the strongest of the three, Zootopia 2 and Elio are fairly typical Disney and Pixar films – decent stories, but they don’t compare to what are widely considered two of the best anime movies ever made.

The Oscars Do Not Respect Anime

Given the Academy Awards’ history with anime films, it’s surprising that Spirited Away, La Maison en Petits Cubes, and The Boy and the Heron ever won awards. Several other highly-regarded anime films were nominated but didn’t win, including Howl’s Moving Castle (lost to Wallace & Gromit), The Wind Rises (lost to Frozen), The Tale of Princess Kaguya (lost to Big Hero Six), When Marnie Was There (lost to Inside Out), and The Red Turtle (lost to Zootopia).

Every year, many fantastic anime movies are overlooked by the Academy Awards. As anime gains popularity, fans hoped this year would be different. Demon Slayer is currently a global phenomenon, and its film Infinity Castle broke box office records. Chainsaw Man also received immediate praise for its artistic quality and many believed it deserved Oscar consideration. While Infinity Castle might have been hard for Oscar voters to appreciate as it concluded an existing series, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc works perfectly well as a standalone film.

The Oscar nominations lack diversity, with the only film drawing noticeably from another culture being KPop Demon Hunters, which incorporates South Korean elements. However, it’s still produced by an American company, Netflix, and all nominated films originate from Western animation studios. Zootopia 2 and Elio are American productions, while Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Arco are French. Japan, despite having popular films like Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man, received no nominations at all. This suggests that American film critics and Hollywood aren’t recognizing the quality of anime.

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2026-01-22 20:04