Four anime films had been submitted for potential nominations for this year’s 92nd Academy Awards back in October. Weathering With You came out as the frontrunner, but that too missed its shot at being nominated in the International Feature Film category. Hopes were still up to see it get nominated in the Animated Feature Film category, but those too have been dashed.

The Oscars released a list of nominated titles for the animated category, none of which can be classified as anime. 

Congratulations to the Animated Feature nominees! #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/g7HJWNklab

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 13, 2020

“Spirited Away”, back in 2003 made history by setting up a milestone for the animation industry by becoming the first Japanese animated feature film to win at the Oscars but unfortunately even after more than a decade, anime performance at the Oscars hasn’t improved.

According to Oscar records, only 9 Japan-based animated films so far have been nominated since the late 1990s. In 2017, a highly popular anime “Your Name” registered absence from the nominations as well so it’s quite often that a commercially successful anime film gets snubbed from the Oscars.

About Academy Awards:

The Academy Awards, more popularly known as the Oscars, are awards given for achieving excellence in cinematic works. Given annually in January by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards provide an international recognition assessed by the Academy’s voting members.

The various category winners are awarded a copy of “Academy Award of Merit”, although more commonly known by its nickname, the “Oscar”. The statuette depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style.