Demon Slayer Mugen Train is Best Animation of the Year

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Train won three awards at the 44th Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony. It won Best Animation of the Year, Outstanding Score, and the Popularity Award. Additionally, other films that won at the ceremony include Uchida Eiji’s Midnight Swan and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. [Thanks, Variety!]

Every year, the Japan Academy chooses only one movie to be the Best Animation of the Year. For 2021, it was Mugen Train. However, all of the nominees receive formal recognition as Excellent Animation of the Year. This year, the other nominees were: Violet Evergarden: The Movie, Poupelle of Chimney Town, Stand By Me Doraemon 2, and Josee, The Tiger and the Fish.

The Demon Slayer movie’s soundtrack also won an accolade. Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina, the composers of both the movie and show, received the Outstanding Score award. Other nominees in the Outstanding Score category were: Fukushima 50, Yarn, The Voice of Sin, and Tora-san, Wish You Were Here.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Train is the highest grossing film of all time in Japan. It beat the long-time record held by Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away. Furthermore, Mugen Train has a $417 million worldwide gross, making it the first Japanese film and the first anime film to pass $400 million. The movie will air in US and Canadian theaters on April 23, 2021, and its digital release is slated for June 22, 2021.