This 2026 Oscar snub reeks of the Academy failing to understand and respect anime as a medium.
In a massive upset for anime fans, the 98th Academy Awards failed to nominate Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc for the Best Animated Feature Film category. Despite both movies doing extremely well at the box office, receiving critical acclaim, and garnering Oscar buzz since release, neither film made the cut. Worse, not a single anime movie was nominated for the 2026 Oscar season. This is especially egregious considering the level of quality in the final nomination list, with Elio and Zootopia 2 arguably earning unwarranted Oscar nominations over Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man.
KPop Demon Hunters’ inclusion was a given considering the record-breaking Netflix film’s widespread popularity and strong marketing campaign, but if KPop Demon Hunters deserves a nomination, why don’t the two best anime movies of the year? If nothing else, both Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man were leagues above Disney’s offerings for the year. This 2026 Oscar snub reeks of the Academy failing to understand and respect anime as a medium, instead honoring traditional western animation at the expense of celebrating what was a truly diverse year for animated movies around the world.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle & Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc Reviewed Better Than Almost Every Film Nominated For Best Animated Movie
Sporting a 98% and 96% Tomatometer score respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc reviewed better than all but one movie nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar.
