The awards ceremony will take place on 21 February, 2026.
The nominees for the 53rd Annie Awards were announced by The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. The 2025 anime movie Scarlet by Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu was able to get multiple nominations. However, anime movies like Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc, and anime series such as DAN DA DAN were also nominated.
Anime makes a serious appearance in Annie Awards 2025
Mamoru Hosoda’s movie Scarlet (Hateshi naki Scarlet) has been nominated in three categories in this year's Annie Awards. This includes: Best Feature – Independent, Best Writing – Feature, Best Direction – Feature.
Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc has also been nominated in the Best Direction – Feature category, while the DAN DA DAN anime has been nominated in the Best Direction – TV/Media category for its Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot! episode.
Netflix’s anime adaptation of the Devil May Cry game franchise has been nominated for the Best Music – TV/Media category.
Unsurprisingly, this year’s Annie Awards is dominated by KPop Demon Hunters, Netflix and Sony Pictures Animations’ beloved original movie. The film has been nominated in: Best Feature, 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 (Arden Cho as Rumi), Best Writing – Feature, and Best Editorial – Feature categories.
The 53rd Annie Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, 21 February 2026, at UCLA’s Royce Hall.