Clockwise from top: Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, KPop Demon Hunters and Scarlet. Courtesy of Netflix; Courtesy of Sony (3) Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Traditionally, the Animation Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has not been known for risk-taking. Since the best animated feature Oscar was introduced in 2002, the category has overwhelmingly rewarded studio-backed, 3D CGI family fare of the Disney-Pixar-DreamWorks school. In more than two decades, exceptions have been rare: one claymation winner (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), one stop-motion drama (Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio) and one independent (last year's Latvian breakout Flow). As East Asian animation - from Japanese anime to South Korean hanguk aeni and Chinese donghua - exploded into a global pop-culture force, the Academy has remained largely unimpressed. As far as Oscar voters are concerned, Asian animation can be defined as beginning and ending with the films of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, The Boy and the Heron) and his devotees at Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki's singular style - his hand-drawn, painterly aesthetic and his thematic focus on a child's-eye view of morally complex, humanistic tales - has been treated as the sole Asian animation worthy of entry into the Oscar canon. To date, Mamoru Hosoda's 2019 time-travel drama Mirai remains the only non-Ghibli anime feature ever nominated. Related Stories Movies Robert Downey Jr. Calls Timothée Chalamet's 'Marty Supreme' Turn "A Generation-Defining Performance" in "A Decade-Defining Film" Lifestyle Why Stars Keep Dragging Their Moms to the Golden Globes Things will be different this year. Two of the season's animation frontrunners - Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters and anime blockbuster Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, both Golden Globe nominees - have little in common with a Miyazaki movie. KPop is a neon-soaked action musical about a chart-topping girl group, Huntrix, juggling stadium tours with their secret lives as superpowered demon hunters. Demon Slayer, the first of a series-ending film trilogy, is a master class in hyper-kinetic, violent battles and high-stakes melodrama, in which a sequence of epic duels is intercut with emotional character backstories. Dark horse contenders include Scarlet from Hosoda, an action-fantasy reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet as a surreal revenge tale; and Ryu Nakayama's Chainsaw Man, another anime series to film adaptation, featuring a hero whose arms and head turn into chainsaws, who falls for a girl who can transform into a nuclear bomb. Aside from the out-there storylines, these movies look nothing like Studio Ghibli or the photorealism of a Disney/Pixar film. The animation is a combination of 3D CGI and anime's traditional 2D style - where scenes are shot at 12 frames per second instead of the standard 24 fps of classic Western animation - giving the films a more comic book/manga feel. KPop is full 3D film, but the directors mimic elements of the 2D animated style, including exaggerated, cartoonish expressions. The eyes of K-pop superstars/demon hunters Rumi, Mira and Zoey (voiced by actors Arden Cho, May Hong and Ji-young Yoo) turn into giant red hearts to show physical attraction. When they are angry or determined, their mouths contort absurdly and wail. This is unlike anything the Academy has seen - or at least recognized - before. Devoted fans, however, are familiar. The Demon Slayer TV series, based on Koyoharu Gotouge's best-selling manga, has been a global hit since its launch in 2019. The first Demon Slayer film, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020), grossed more than $500 million worldwide (Infinity Castle blew past that, earning nearly $800 million). Director Haruo Sotozaki's style, with its focus on fighting, fellowship and flashbacks, fits clearly into the established shonen ("young boy") genre of anime, whose lineage includes popular '90s TV series like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. KPop, in turn, draws heavily from the mahou shojo ("magical girl") subgenre of anime, which Sailor Moon popularized worldwide, in which transformation sequences and secret identities provide a metaphor for female empowerment. Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans also take inspiration from K-drama series - a staple on Netflix worldwide - with their blend of fantastical action and relatable character flaws, and their themes of secret identities and found families. K-pop music videos and stadium concerts are also a major influence. The style of Huntrix and their demon-led boy band rivals Saja Boys mirrors real-life K-pop acts like Blackpink, BTS and Stray Kids. (Seasoned K-pop producers such as Teddy Park, Lindgren and Stephen Kirk worked on the film's chart-topping soundtrack.) Part of the appeal - and a good portio