The award ceremony will be held at the Tokyo Dome on 29 October.
Ahead of the award ceremony on 29 October, the MTV Video Music Awards Japan announced the winner of 2026’s Song of the Year. Kenshi Yonezu’s “IRIS OUT”, which was the theme song for the “Chainsaw Man Reze Arc” movie, has won the award this year. It was also previously announced that the song has been submitted for consideration for this year’s Grammys.
IRIS OUT wins Song of the Year at VMA Japan 2026
On 14 October, 2026, it was announced that Kenshi Yonezo’s IRIS OUT had won the Song of the Year title at VMA Japan this year. The winners will be awarded on 29 October at the Tokyo Dome on the day of the ceremony.
However, this is not the only anime-related win at the awards this year.
AiNA THE END’s On The Way has also been awarded the Best Solo Artist Video - Japan. The song was the opening theme song for DAN DA DAN Season 2.
Moreover, Kenshi Yonezu and Hikaru Utada’s JANE DOE was crowned as the Best Collaboration Video -Japan- award. This song was the ending theme for the Chainsaw Man Reze Arc film.
What is MTV Video Music Awards Japan?
The MTV Video Music Awards Japan are the Japanese version of the VMAs in the United States.
Much like their American counterpart, VMA Japan awards artists for songs and music videos through online voting from the same channel viewers. Previously, Japan was part of the MTV Asia Awards, which included music from all Asian countries. But due to the variety of music in the country, VMA Japan was introduced in 2022.
Last year, Yonezu won the Best Solo Artist Video (Japan) award for his song Sayonara, Mata Itsuka. AiNA THE END won the Best Alternative Video award for her song Love Sick.
The Song of the Year at VMA Japan 2025 was awarded to Bling-Bang-Bang-Born by Creepy Nuts, which was the theme song for the anime Mashle: Magic and Muscles Season 2 and went viral globally.
What is Chainsaw Man the Movie: Reze Arc about?
Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc premiered in Japan on 19 September, 2025. By the end of the year, it surpassed JP¥ 10 billion in domestic earnings. Tatsuya Yoshihara directed the film at MAPPA, while Hiroshi Seko wrote the screenplay.
The cast of the Reze Movie includes:
- Kikunosuke Toya as Denji
- Shiori Izawa as Pochita
- Tomori Kusunoki as Makima
- Shogo Sakata as Aki
- Fairouz Ai as Power
- Karin Takahashi as Kobeni
- Natsuki Hanae as Beam
- Yuuya Uchida as The Violence Fiend
- Maaya Uchida as Angel Devil
- Reina Ueda as Reze
MAPPA also announced that a second season of the beloved Chainsaw Man anime is already in the works.
The Chainsaw Man anime is based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga series of the same name. The manga ended just this year with Chapter 232. Viz Media publishes the manga in English, and describes the story as:
Denji’s a poor young man who’ll do anything for money, even hunting down devils with his pet devil Pochita. He’s a simple man with simple dreams, drowning under a mountain of debt. But his sad life gets turned upside down one day when he’s betrayed by someone he trusts. Now with the power of a devil inside him, Denji’s become a whole new man—Chainsaw Man!