The US awards season is in full swing, and it continues to be a big one for the anime industry. That’s because it was recently announced that Suzume and The Boy and the Heron got seven nominations each at the 51st Annie Awards.
Nominees at the Annie Awards were revealed recently on Variety. There, the two big anime films of 2023 have gotten nominations in major categories, including the Best Animated Feature.
These nominations continue the major success that these two films have received over the past year.
Anime Films Are Making a Splash in the US Awards Season
Anime films have been nominated for major international awards before, but the past year has seen the industry make an even bigger splash.
For starters, while Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume premiered in Japan in late 2022, the film had its international premiere at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, where it was part of the official competition.
With the film getting a wide release internationally, Suzume has also racked up nominations in big awards ceremonies. It’s not the only significant anime film this awards season though.
Just recently, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron won the Golden Globe award for Best Animated Feature. This is a historic win given that it’s the first Golden Globe win for an anime.
Even though it did not win, Shinkai’s latest movie was also nominated in this category.
Soon, the two films will once again be honored in another prestigious event.
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Suzume and The Boy and the Heron Get Seven Annie Award Nominations Each
The Annie Awards is one of the most prestigious awards in animation. Thus, it’s big news for the anime industry that Shinkai and Miyazaki’s films have been nominated for seven awards each.
To start, here are the seven categories at the Annie Awards where Suzume got nominations:
- Best Feature
- Best FX - Feature
- Best Character Animation - Feature
- Best Music - Feature
- Best Storyboarding - Feature
- Best Voice Acting - Feature (Hokuto Matsumura as Souta Munakata)
- Best Writing - Feature
Meanwhile, The Boy and the Heron was nominated in the following categories:
- Best Feature
- Best Character Animation – Feature
- Best Direction - Feature
- Best Music - Feature
- Best Production Design - Feature
- Best Storyboarding - Feature
- Best Writing - Feature
The 51st Annie Awards will happen on February 17, 2024. This means anime fans will only need to wait a bit over a month to see if these two films will rack up wins during the ceremony.
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Source: Variety
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