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Demon Slayer, Earwig & the Witch, Lupin III, On-Gaku, Ride Your Wave, A Whisker Away Confirmed Eligible for Oscars

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed on Thursday that the following anime films are eligible for consideration at the 93rd annual Academy Awards:

• Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train based on manga by Koyoharu Gotouge
• Studio Ghibli and Goro Miyazaki's Earwig and the Witch
• Lupin III THE FIRST based on manga series by Monkey Punch
• Kenji Iwaisawa's ON-GAKU: Our Sound
• Masaaki Yuasa's Ride Your Wave
• Junichi Satō and Tomotaka Shibayama's A Whisker Away

A maximum of five films from the full list of eligible films can receive nominations in the Animated Feature Film category. The Academy will announce the nominees on March 15.

The Hollywood Reporter columnist Scott Feinberg offered his awards forecast for the category, putting Earwig and the Witch as a "major threat" (to the frontrunners), while Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, ON-GAKU: Our Sound, and Lupin III THE FIRST are "possibilities." Feinberg did not list any of the anime among his frontrunners for the category.

The 93rd annual Academy Awards will be held on April 25, delayed by two weeks due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In 2020, a record of 32 films were submitted for nomination, including Ayumu Watanabe and Studio 4°C's Children of the Sea; Kitaro Kousaka, DLE, and Madhouse's Okko's Inn; Hiroyuki Imaishi and Trigger's Promare; and Makoto Shinkai and CoMix Wave Films' Weathering With You. No anime films received nominations.

In 2019, the Academy changed the eligibility rules for the Animated Feature Film category, removing the requirement that eight eligible animated features have theatrical releases in a single calendar year for the category to be activated. In addition, nominations voting is automatically open to members in the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch, while other members must opt-in to participate in nominations voting.

Sources: Deadline (Patrick Hipes), The Hollywood Reporter (Scott Feinberg)