Demon Slayer loses best animation award & anime fans are split

A big reason behind Demon Slayer’s popularity is its stellar visuals, but it recently lost the top spot for animation in the 10th Anime Trending Awards.

The results of the 10th Anime Trending Awards were announced on March 10, 2024. There were several categories in the award ceremony, including Anime of the Year, Best Character Design, and Best OST. Demon Slayer, despite being considered one of the best anime of the year, didn’t win a lot of awards.

Fans are not very happy about this. Demon Slayer had a splendid season with the Swordsmith Village Arc and featured two of the best fights of the year in its third season. But given the anime it lost to, some fans are also appeased with the result. In short, the 10th ATA has split the anime fandom in two.

Anime fans debate Demon Slayer’s second place in animation

Crunchyroll

The nominees in the Best Animation category were Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, Heavenly Delusions, Zom 100, and Spy x Family Season 2 among others. All of them featured amazing animation, but Jujutsu Kaisen took home the trophy.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 was undoubtedly Demon Slayer’s biggest competitor this year. The anime already had an overwhelming win in the Crunchyroll Awards, though losing to Demon Slayer in animation. This time, Jujutsu Kaisen seized the top position from Demon Slayer.

Fandoms of Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen are huge and, in some cases, overlapping – as shown by the fan reactions to the latter’s recent win, with many having different opinions on Demon Slayer’s loss to Jujutsu Kaisen.

Some fans on Reddit complained about how Jujutsu Kaisen took home the Best in Animation award in the ATA when the third season of Demon Slayer was also in the running. A fan wrote, “The moment you didn’t choose Demon Slayer for animation, your awards became irrelevant. Mappa did a fantastic job with JJK, don’t get me wrong. Especially amidst all the controversy. However, c’mon… it’s ufotable… there’s no contest.”

However, that was not the general consensus. Some fans agreed that while Demon Slayer did a good job in terms of animation, it wasn’t the best from the anime. One fan expressed their view in this matter by commenting, “Even as a Demon Slayer defender, Swordsmith Village didn’t deserve best anything besides best animation and even then I’m not sold on it.”

Demon Slayer may not win the Best in Animation award in the ATA this year but it has an opportunity to redeem itself with its upcoming fourth season. We can count on Ufotable to give us another season of jaw-dropping animation.