Will this be the year that anime sweeps the animated feature race at the Oscars?
Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle broke records by earning $682 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time. The film captivated fans, but now Crunchyroll bosses have their sights set on the Oscars. And unsurprisingly, the film’s music, production design, and craftsmanship are dazzling.
“Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” follows Tanjiro Kamado (voiced by Zachary Aguilar) and the Demon Slayer Corps as they battle Muzan Kibutsuji and the Waning Moon inside his hideout known as Mugen Castle. The Crunchyroll team targeted longtime anime fans and newcomers to the art form for the film’s release.
“We needed to be a true Crunchyroll[in marketing]. We have a very deep connection with our fan base, we have a great relationship with them, and we needed to create a moment for them to release a part of the movie,” Mitchell Berger, vice president of global commerce, said during a Variety Screening Series conversation moderated by Variety’s senior journeyman editor Jazz Tankay. “We had to create an experience in our booth[at San Diego Comic-Con]with a VR experience.[The fans]knew the characters, they knew the story. A lot of them had read the manga, so they knew what was going to happen. The manga brings them into the world and they can see what’s out there.”
“We’re leveraging everything else that[Crunchyroll]has built for this IP over the years. The voice acting is a great example of that,” Crunchyroll president Rahul Plini revealed. “Japanese voice actors are really popular with fans around the world, as well as other English and other language actors. It was a huge role to be able to take them on the journey with us and help connect fandom and music. Puffs like Lisa We were able to work with artists who do a lot of music, and we were able to use that (opportunity) to connect and talk to fans all over the world. All of those things are what make Demon Slayer anime fans so passionate about this IP.”
Apart from the film’s box office success and driving audiences to theaters, the company is running a full awards season campaign. Both Pulini and Berger hope that the anime medium will be taken seriously not only by fans but also by guild and academy voters.
Two animated films directed by Hayao Miyazaki, “Spirited Away” and “The Boy and the Heron,” won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. The team supports Mr. Miyazaki and hopes that voters will consider “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.”
“We’re working to get this new audience on board that we’re talking to FYC about,” Plini said. He went on to say, “It’s important that they pay attention, that they participate, that they seriously consider it. But the other thing I would say is, going back to a privileged position, we have the giants who brought anime to the Oscars. We benefited from that with Miyazaki and Makoto Shinkai’s previous film, Sparrow.” We are building on the legacy of these legendary figures. ”
Berger added that “animation is a way to tell a story,” somewhere between stop-motion, traditional 2D animation, and CG animation. He went on to say that participating in the conversation is a way to elevate the art form. “It’s a beautiful piece of art. The craftsmanship, care and love that went into it and just being able to show it to people is amazing.”
The two also discussed the decision to adapt “Demon Slayer” into a movie or release another season of the popular series on the platform.
Berger credited animation company Ufotable for its work. “What they quickly realized and did was that this is a story that deserves to be told on the biggest stage, with the biggest visuals and the best sound. It feels like a movie to begin with. They made a decision and this was the right way to tell the end of the story.”
Berger later said that watching a series on a platform and watching a movie in a theater need not create a conflict. “The key is to give people the opportunity to make emotional connections with content in a variety of ways, and there are ways to do that all over the place.”
Pulini added, “Our fans want this theatrical experience. They want to come to the theater and watch these movies on the big screen with their friends and family. We’re committed to providing that. We’re committed to the theatrical experience. We have the connection with our fans and we can bring them to the theater.”
“Infinity Castle” is the first film in a trilogy to be released. They are “eager” to bring the next two movies to fans, but no release date has been set yet.
Berger reflected on the film’s success. “It may sound a little cliché, but it was a real honor to be a part of this,” he said. “We were able to help bring something that resonated incredibly with our fan base to a global audience, and it was a box office hit. There’s no better feeling in the world.”
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