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The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, revealed the winners for its 53rd Annual Annie Awards on Saturday. No anime won awards at the event.
However, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’ animated film KPop Demon Hunters won all 10 awards for which it was nominated, including for “Best Feature.”
The film also won:
- Best FX – Feature
- Best Character Animation – Feature
- Best Character Design – Feature
- Best Direction – Feature
- Best Music – Feature
- Best Production Design – Feature
- Best Voice Acting – Feature
- Best Writing – Feature
- Best Editorial – Feature
The film was nominated in every Feature category except for Best Storyboarding and “Best Feature – Independent.” Arco won the award for “Best Feature – Independent.”
Dutch animator and director Michaël Dudok de Wit, who directed the Studio Ghibli co-production film The Red Turtle, was one of the winners of the Winsor McCay Award. The award “stands as one of the highest honors given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation.”
Japanese company WACOM won the “Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement affecting the animation industry.”
Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu’s new anime film Scarlet (Hateshi naki Scarlet in Japanese, literally “Scarlet Without Limits”) was nominated for “Best Feature – Independent.” Scarlet was also nominated for “Best Direction – Feature” and “Best Writing – Feature.”
The Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc film was also nominated for “Best Direction – Feature.”
Netflix’s first Korean-animated film Lost in Starlight was nominated for “Best Feature – Independent.”
The DAN DA DAN television anime was nominated for “Best Direction – TV/Media” for its “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!” episode, but Common Side Effects won the award.
The My Melody & Kuromi stop-motion animation series was nominated for “Best TV/Media – Children” with its “All For Our Best Friend” episode, but The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball series won.
The Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 anthology project was nominated in the “Best TV/Media – Limited Series” category for david production’s “BLACK” short as well as in the “Best FX – TV/Media” category for Polgyon Pictures’ “The Bird of Paradise” short. However, Win or Lose won “Best TV/Media – Limited Series,” and Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age won the “Best FX – TV/Media” award.
Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2: On the Beach game received a nomination in the “Best Character Animation – Video Game” category, but South of Midnight won the award.
The animated series of CAPCOM’s Devil May Cry video game franchise earned a nomination for “Best Music – TV/Media,” but Win or Lose won the award.
The animation project for Sega’s Sonic Racing CrossWorlds game was nominated in the “Best Sponsored” category, but “Olipop Yeti” won the award.
The Annie Awards recognize outstanding achievement in animation. ASIFA-Hollywood added the Best Animated Independent Feature award for the 2016 awards in order to “recognize not only features in wide release, but also the independent animators, international studios, anime and special productions that might not otherwise get the attention they deserve.” Mamoru Hosoda’s Mirai film won the award in 2019.
In 2024, Hayao Miyazaki won the award for Best Storyboarding for a feature film, and animation director Takeshi Honda won the award for Best Character Animation for a feature film, both for The Boy and the Heron. Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi received the prestigious Winsor McCay Award in recognition of lifetime or career contributions.
California-based studio Tonko House’s Oni: Thunder God’s Tale CGI animated series received awards in 2023 for Best TV/Media – Limited Series and Best Production Design – TV/Media.
No anime won awards in 2025, 2022, 2021, or 2020. The 2020 awards presented late director Satoshi Kon with the prestigious Winsor McCay Award.
Sources: Annie Awards livestream and website
