Golden Trailer Awards Nominates Reze Arc and KPop Demon Hunters

MAPPA’s production bet, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, received a nomination in the Best Foreign Animation/Family category at the 26th Golden Trailer Awards. On the other hand, 2025 Netflix sensation KPop Demon Hunters earned two nods, Best Animation/Family and Best Animation/Family Poster for its ‘Payoff’ campaign image.

Golden Trailer Awards recognize excellence in film and television marketing rather than the content itself, distinguishing it from traditional Hollywood awards that acknowledge cinematic excellence. The nominations arrive as Japanese anime films continue expanding their international theatrical and marketing footprint.

Since the Golden Trailer Awards’ inception, multiple Japanese anime movies have been nominated in either the Best Foreign Animation or Best Animation category. The Oscar-winning Hayao Miyazaki classic Spirited Away became the first anime film to earn and win a nomination in the Golden Trailer Awards’ Best Animation/Family category in 2003.

What Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc’s Golden Trailer Awards Nomination Means

The nominations mark great feats for both productions. KPop Demon Hunters is already considered a breakthrough 2025 production with noticeable success in the award season. The movie swept the Annie Awards, landed the Best Animated Feature Oscar, and even won a 31st Critics' Choice award in the animated feature category.

Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc, by contrast, was among the most discussed Oscar snubs of the year. Despite generating almost $163 million USD at the global box office and drawing wide critical praise, the MAPPA-produced film was shut out of the Academy Awards' Best Animated Feature category entirely, along with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle.

While the Golden Trailer Awards may not compensate for the critical recognition the movie did not receive, it still demonstrates Reze Arc’s international marketing footprint. The Golden Trailer Awards included a dedicated foreign animation category in 2012, with Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arrietty being the first Japanese anime nominated and win in the year.

In 2026, Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc is nominated with four other regional animated movies, including Germany’s Barry and Me and Russia’s Gorynych. However, the dedicated ‘foreign animation’ category still highlights one long-standing criticism of Western award committees, where regional productions often get pushed to a ‘foreign’ category to keep the Hollywood nominations in place.

The criticism is not centered around which production is better, but the categorical exclusion that prioritizes Hollywood productions. Nonetheless, Reze Arc’s nomination at a global stage still strengthens anime's presence across international markets. On the other hand, a Netflix live-action series based on Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga has also been nominated for Best Animation/Family TV Spot - TV/Streaming Series.