KPop Demon Hunters swept the 53rd Annie Awards Saturday night at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles. The animated film from Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix won 10 awards, including best feature. It grabbed every prize it was up for. The event honors top work in animation. No anime titles took home wins this year.
Key Takeaways
- KPop Demon Hunters won 10 Annie Awards, including best feature, direction, and production design.
- The ceremony happened at UCLA's Royce Hall with no anime victories.
- Arco by director Ugo Bienvenu picked up best independent feature.
- Adult Swim's Common Side Effects led TV winners.
Background
Animation fans filled UCLA's Royce Hall for the 53rd Annie Awards. The show started on time. Lights dimmed. Presenters walked out. The crowd buzzed with excitement. This event marks animation's biggest night. The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, runs it each year. They've done so since 1972. Winners get statues. Those mean a lot in the industry.
KPop Demon Hunters came in as a favorite. Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans led the project. Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix backed it. The story mixes K-pop stars with demon fighting. A girl group called Huntrix hunts demons. They battle a rival boy band, the Saja Boys. Those guys hide demon secrets. The plot builds to a big showdown at an awards show. Huntrix performs their hit 'Golden.' Demons try to crash it. The group fights back. They seal away the evil with their music.
The film hit big last year. It earned praise for looks, voices, story, and songs. Time magazine called it the 2025 breakthrough of the year. It won best animated feature and best original song at the Critics' Choice Awards. Same at the Golden Globes. 'Golden' took a Grammy for best song written for visual media. That's the first for a K-pop track. The song also won at Melon Music Awards and MAMA Awards. Now it's up for Oscars in animated feature and original song. A sequel's in the works.
Huntrix members stand out. Rumi leads as the main singer. She's half-demon. That secret drives her arc. Mira dances and fights with a polearm. She bucks her rich family. Zoey raps and throws knives. She's the group's youngest, Korean American from Burbank. Singing voices come from Audrey Nuna for Mira and Rei Ami for Zoey. Costumes mix Korean traditions with high fashion. Think Givenchy and Alexander McQueen styles. The name Huntrix blends hunter with a warrior ending.
Anime has a spot at Annies. But not this year. Past years saw wins. Hayao Miyazaki grabbed storyboarding for The Boy and the Heron in 2024. Joe Hisaishi got the Winsor McCay lifetime award then. Satoshi Kon earned one in 2020. Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai won independent feature in 2019. Tonko House's Oni series took TV prizes in 2023. But 2025, 2022, 2021, and 2020 had no anime wins. Nominations came for Scarlet, Chainsaw Man movie, Lost in Starlight, DAN DA DAN, My Melody & Kuromi, Star Wars: Visions. None won.
Other honors went out. Michaël Dudok de Wit, director of The Red Turtle, got the Winsor McCay Award. It nods career work. WACOM took the Ub Iwerks for tech advances.
Key Details
KPop Demon Hunters won every category. That's 10 total. Best feature went to it. Best FX in a feature. Best character animation. Best character design. Best direction. Best music. Best production design. Best voice acting. Best writing. Best editorial. It missed just two feature nods: storyboarding and independent.
Full Winners Breakdown
Here's what it took:
- Best Feature
- Best FX – Feature
- Best Character Animation – Feature
- Best Character Design – Feature
- Best Direction – Feature
- Best Music – Feature
- Best Production Design – Feature
- Best Voice Acting – Feature
- Best Writing – Feature
- Best Editorial – Feature
Arco by Ugo Bienvenu won best independent feature. Adult Swim's Common Side Effects topped TV/media direction. It beat DAN DA DAN's episode. The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball took children's TV over My Melody & Kuromi. Win or Lose grabbed limited series over Star Wars: Visions. Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age won FX over Visions. South of Midnight beat Death Stranding 2 in game character animation. Win or Lose also took music over Devil May Cry anime. Olipop Yeti won sponsored over Sonic Racing.
"KPop Demon Hunters pushed every limit in animation and music. Seeing it win all 10 feels right." – Maggie Kang, co-director
The ceremony ran smooth. Stars showed up. Presenters cracked jokes. Claps filled the hall after each win. KPop Demon Hunters' team rushed the stage multiple times. Smiles everywhere. Backstage, talks turned to Oscars next.
And fans online lit up. Posts poured in. Some noted the anime shutout. Others cheered the sweep. Check Sony's animation push for more on big studio moves. Or see animated film deals like Little Amélie's.
What This Means
KPop Demon Hunters' run changes things. It shows music-driven stories can rule animation. Blends of K-pop and action draw crowds. Studios see the draw. Netflix and Sony bet big. Payoff came clear.
No anime wins spark talk. Nominations were there. Scarlet from Mamoru Hosoda. Chainsaw Man movie. More. But judges picked others. Some say Western styles edged out. Others point to strong competition. History shows ups and downs. Wins come in waves.
The sweep boosts the film's path. Oscar nods already in. Grammy sealed 'Golden.' Expect more buzz. Sequel news heats up. Huntrix could return bigger.
Awards like Annie push quality. Tech awards to WACOM mean tools improve. Lifetime nods honor vets. New blood gets shine too. Industry grows. More diverse tales hit screens.
Fans wait for next. Will anime rebound? Can KPop keep momentum? Eyes on Oscars now. Animation stays hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is KPop Demon Hunters about?
It's a film where a K-pop girl group, Huntrix, fights demons. They face rival Saja Boys who are demons in disguise. Music powers their battles.
Who directed KPop Demon Hunters?
Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans directed it. Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix produced.
Did any anime win at the 2026 Annie Awards?
No. Several got nominated but didn't win.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is KPop Demon Hunters about?
It’s a film where a K-pop girl group, Huntrix, fights demons. They face rival Saja Boys who are demons in disguise. Music powers their battles.
Who directed KPop Demon Hunters?
Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans directed it. Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix produced.
Did any anime win at the 2026 Annie Awards?
No. Several got nominated but didn’t win.
