'Your Name' Director, Anime Veterans Asked To Join The Academy

It is that time of the year again. Recently, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences [...]

It is that time of the year again. Recently, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its latest list of membership invites. Some big geek-friendly faces were asked to join, but Danai Gurira wasn't alone.

No, anime had a strong showing, and a slew of well-known creators have been invited to joint the elite organization.

This year, Makoto Shinkai got a well-deserved invite after his latest feature broke all sorts of box-office records. Your Name has become the highest-grossing anime feature to date, knocking Spirited Away from the long-held spot. The director is also known for his work on 5 Centimeters Per Second and Children Who Chase Lost Voices.

Aside from Shinkai, Sunao Katabuchi was also asked to join The Academy. His latest work with In This Corner of the World received rave reviews, and his past work on films like Mai Mai Miracle are classics. Mamoru Hosoda also received a well-deserved invitation thanks to his creation of The Boy and The Beast, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Summer Wars.

You can check out the full list of invited Japanese creators below:

  • Director Atsuko Hirayanagi
    Director Mamoru Hosoda
    Director Sunao Katabuchi
    Director Ru Kuwahata
    Director Makoto Shinkai
    Director Sion Sono
    Actor Takeshi Kaneshiro
    Actor Issei Ogata
    Composer Yoko Kanno
    Designer Keiko Mitsumatsu

This is not the first time anime has received attention from The Academy. Hayao Miyazaki has been invited to join the organization a slew of times since his film Spirited Away won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Toshio Suzuki, a famed producer and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, was also asked to join The Academy back in 2014. Other well-known anime talent such as Joe Hisaishi have been invited to the organization, and animtor Kunio Kato joined as well after winning an Oscar for working on an award-winning French animated short.

Are you happy to see this kind of representation expanding? Which other creators need to join the group? Isn't it time Naoko Yamada got some love for directing A Silent Voice? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

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