Matt Schley
February 25, 2019 
Mirai, the latest film from Mamoru Hosoda, failed to capture the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards Sunday.
It was a surprise to few who had been reading the tea leaves (i.e. social media) the last few weeks. Many Academy members were spotted tweeting about how much they loved Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which ultimately won the award, while some even admitted they hadn’t even seen Mirai.
As it stands, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away remains the only Japanese animated film to win the award since it was established in 2001.
Still, the fact Mirai was nominated at all puts it in rare standing. It is only the sixth anime film (seventh, if you count The Red Turtle), and the first not produced by Studio Ghibli, to be nominated for the award.
Previous anime nominees: Spirited Away (winner), Howl’s Moving Castle, The Wind Rises, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, When Marnie Was There, The Red Turtle.
What will be the next anime film to win an Academy Award? Will it be, perhaps, Miyazaki’s upcoming How Do You Live? Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You? Or Hosoda’s next film? Only time will tell.
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