Danica Davidson
January 24, 2023 
The nominees for the 2023 Oscars were just revealed, and in a move that surprises no one, zero anime were nominated.
Several anime did meet the requirements that would have allowed them to be nominated: INU-OH from Masaaki Yuasa and Science SARU, Drifting Home from Hiroyasu Ishida and Studio Colorido, and Goodbye, Don Glees! from Atsuko Ishizuka and Madhouse.
Instead, the nominees for Animated Feature Film category in 2023 are Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Turning Red, The Sea Beast, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
This year’s Academy Awards will take place on March 12, and then we’ll see who takes home the Oscar in that category. Anyone want to make predictions?
There has been a pattern of the Academy Awards ignoring eligible anime. The main exception was when Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away took home an Oscar 20 years ago, in 2003.
GKIDS gave this description for Spirited Away:
“Winner of the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature, Hayao Miyazaki’s wondrous fantasy adventure is a dazzling masterpiece from one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animation.
Chihiro’s family is moving to a new house, but when they stop on the way to explore an abandoned village, her parents undergo a mysterious transformation and Chihiro is whisked into a world of fantastic spirits ruled over by the sorceress Yubaba. Put to work in a magical bathhouse for spirits and demons, Chihiro must use all her wits to survive in this strange new place, find a way to free her parents and return to the normal world. Overflowing with imaginative creatures and thrilling storytelling, Spirited Away became a worldwide smash hit, and is one of the most critically-acclaimed films of all time.”
Maybe anime will have better luck next year at the Academy Awards?
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
