The 51st Annual Saturn Awards is set for February of next year, and two anime properties have received nominations. The 2022 film Suzume is nominated for Best Animated Film, while the 2022 series Chainsaw Man is up for Best Animated Television Series or Special.
Saturn Awards
The Saturn Awards are presented each year by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films to honor achievements in these genres for both film and television. Beginning in 1973, awards have been handed out to some of the biggest names in film and TV, and the award categories have expanded over the years to include more and more sci-fi, fantasy, and horror content.
Best Animated Film has been an award category for many years, and past winners include Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Onward, and Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. 2002’s award was granted to Spirited Away, the Studio Ghibli movie that took home the award for Best Animated Feature Film at that year’s Academy Awards.
Up for consideration this year is Suzume, a fantasy adventure film following the titular character as she attempts to close a series of doors throughout Japan to prevent a supernatural “worm” from coming through and causing earthquakes. First premiering in Japan in November of 2022 and receiving international distribution in April of 2023, the film was a commercial and critical success. Critics praised it for its animation and emotional story, and it became one of the highest grossing anime films of all time.
The Best Animated Television Series or Special category is a new one this year, expanding on the previous category of Best Animated Television Series. For the last three years this award has been won by different Star Wars animated shows, with last year’s winner being Star Wars: The Bad Batch (which is nominated again this year).
This year, fantasy horror anime series Chainsaw Man, which exploded onto the scene last year, has received a nomination in this category. Based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s acclaimed manga of the same name, the story follows a teenage boy name Denji who makes a deal with a dog-like devil named Pochita to fuse their bodies, making him into a part-human part-devil that can turn some parts of his body into chainsaws. The anime adaptation was largely well received by fans and critics alike, being praised for its animation and compelling characters, as well as its humor.
The Saturn Awards will be streamed live on February 4, 2024 on ElectricNow, and more information about the awards and how to watch them can be found on their website. Both Suzume and Chainsaw Man are available to watch now on Crunchyroll.
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