10 Perfect Anime Films That Should’ve Broken the Oscars’ Greatest Curse

While the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was officially established 24 years ago, the category has largely ignored Japanese productions, with some of the best anime films being left out of the race. In what fans call the Oscar anime curse, only eight Japanese animated films have earned a nomination so far, and only two have won the accolade.

Only Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki has won two Oscars, proving that despite the rise in global popularity of anime with productions of impressive artistic quality and innovative stories, some of the best films in the industry were repeatedly ignored. These anime films aren’t only masterpieces of animation but also have everything to win an Oscar in their respective years.

Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc

Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc became a global box office hit in 2025. However, despite being eligible for the 2026 Oscars, the film was ignored along with Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. Although Oscar-winning animated films are generally family entertainment-oriented titles, which leave out Chainsaw Man for its graphic violence, Denji and Reze’s story goes far beyond fighting.

In addition to being an authentic visual marvel with a production level that surpasses many of the current animated films, Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc tells a tragic story of manipulation, longing and deception with a dynamic that explores the humanity and connection of the characters beyond the crazy action sequences.

Look Back

Based on the manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Look Back is an outstanding anime film that was sadly overlooked and left out of the Oscar race in 2024 despite receiving critical acclaim and positive ratings from viewers around the world.

While the film boasts impressive animation from start to finish, Look Back‘s most important feature is how it managed to convey its message. Following a pair of friends who connect over their common passion for drawing manga, Look Back is a film about dreams, the importance of connections, the transience of life, and how to move forward.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle

Although the Oscars have only awarded works by Studio Ghibli so far, Ufotable managed to cross the borders of Japan to a level never seen before with Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. Becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of 2025, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is full of tension, tragedy, and mind-blowing animation sequences.

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Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle was affected by the fact that it was necessary to watch the anime series beforehand to understand it and that it is the first part of a trilogy, but most fans agree that the film deserved at least one nomination in recognition of its record-breaking theatrical run and artistic quality.

Mirai

While Makoto Shinkai became a fan-favorite anime director, Mamoru Hosoda is the one who has been considered a possible successor to Hayao Miyazaki, with his 2018 film Mirai becoming the first Japanese animated movie not produced by Studio Ghibli to obtain an Oscar nomination.

The film tells the story of Kun, who ends up traveling in time and learning about how to be a good brother to the newborn Mirai. Mirai is a story about growth and emotional ties that feels like a love letter to family in the same vein as other films by Hosoda, such as Wolf Children and The Boy and the Beast.

Your Name

Your Name quickly rose as one of the best anime movies of all time. The film revolves around two teenagers, Mitsuha and Taki, who mysteriously share a supernatural connection and begin to arbitrarily swap bodies. Full of symbolism about destiny, identity, time, the contrast between the countryside and the city, and a romance that transcends space, Your Name managed to move viewers.

Although many viewers were sad that Makoto Shinkai’s film wasn’t recognized at the Oscars, the cause was even more disappointing. According to CBR, Your Name‘s producer revealed the film wasn’t nominated for distribution reasons. Still, Your Name remains one of the most visually breathtaking anime films whose story can connect with any type of viewer and even tug at their heartstrings.

The Wind Rises

Eight years after Howl’s Moving Castle, The Wind Rises became Studio Ghibli’s third Oscar nomination. With a premise that seemed controversial at first glance, centered on Jiro Horikoshi, a fighter aircraft designer during World War II, the film had been announced as the last of Hayao Miyazaki’s career at the time.

Yet, feeling deeply linked to Miyazaki’s pacifism, The Wind Rises, rather than glorifying war, is a heartfelt tribute to the power of inventiveness and determination to follow one’s vocation. Unfortunately, The Wind Rises lost to Frozen, which became a revolution in 2014.

In This Corner Of The World

Although it flew under the radar of many viewers, In This Corner of the World had more than enough merit to be nominated as the best animated film in 2016. Beyond its beautifully animated style that looks almost like a watercolor and breaking a world record as the longest theatrical animated film, Suzu’s life story is incredibly touching.

In This Corner of the World follows Suzu from her childhood to her married years, showing how she adapts to her new environment and the struggles of the time. Full of melancholy and reaching devastating heights, the film portrays beauty and hope in the midst of a war conflict, being an anime masterpiece that deserves more attention.

The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya

The latest work directed by Isao Takahata, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, is nothing less than a work of art. Based on “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” the film is full of visual metaphors, being an ode to both Japanese folklore and traditional animation with a stunning art style using marked strokes and pastel colors that strays far from digital techniques.

While The Tale of Princess Kaguya lost the Academy Award in 2013 to Big Hero 6, probably because it did not enjoy as much popularity due to its slow, bittersweet story linked to Japanese culture, which makes it more difficult to resonate with international viewers, it’s a must-see Ghibli film full of symbolism that will make viewers think.

Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle went beyond the boundaries of anime, conquering an entire generation of fantasy fans with its story full of magic and personal growth. Based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones, the film tells the story of Sophie, a young girl who has been turned into an old woman by a curse, and her relationship with the wizard Howl.

Howl’s Moving Castle lost to the stop-motion animated film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit at the 78th Academy Awards.

Although it was the next Studio Ghibli title to be nominated for an Academy Award after Spirited Away’s victory in 2003, it failed to win. Still, Howl’s Moving Castle is not only spectacularly animated but is also more than just a love story. The film has a powerful anti-war message, delving into themes like environmental issues, technological innovation, and self-esteem.

Paprika

The last film by the renowned Satoshi Kon, Paprika, is a sci-fi psychological thriller that proved there are no limits to what animation can achieve. Unfortunately, as anime wasn’t mainstream in 2006 and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature category was ascribed to child-friendly titles at the time, Paprika didn’t receive a nomination.

Centering on a machine that allows a group of researchers to enter the subconscious minds of their patients, Paprika‘s original premise and surrealist animation gained it the status of cult classic. Paprika even influenced Christopher Nolan’s Inception, adding to Satoshi Kon’s legacy as one of the most groundbreaking directors in animation history.