On January 5, 2026, the 53rd Annie Award nominations were announced, with director Mamoru Hosoda's latest film "Scarlet" (Hateshinaki Sukāretto) receiving nominations in three categories: Best Feature – Independent, Best Direction – Feature, and Best Writing – Feature. Hosoda has a strong history with the Annie Awards: at the 46th ceremony (2019), "Mirai" became the first film by a Japanese director to win Best Independent Feature, and later works such as "Belle" earned directing and writing nominations. With three nods this time, he is now in contention for a second Independent Feature win, a first for any Japanese director, along with his first Directing and Writing awards.

Director Hosoda expressed his gratitude in an official statement: "I am honored to be nominated in three categories. I sincerely thank everyone who watched and supported this film." The ceremony is scheduled for February 21, 2026.

An Original Feature Built on Shakespeare

"Scarlet" draws inspiration from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Dante's "Divine Comedy." The story follows Princess Scarlet, who awakens in the "Land of the Dead" after failing to avenge her father's murder by her uncle Claudius. In this surreal purgatory, she encounters Hijiri, a pacifist nurse from modern-day Japan, and together they embark on a journey that challenges her quest for vengeance.

The voice cast features Mana Ashida as Scarlet, Masaki Okada as Hijiri, and Koji Yakusho, a recurring presence in Hosoda's films, as the villainous Claudius.

Japan's Harsh Verdict

The film opened in Japan on November 21, 2025, to disappointing results. In its first four days, "Scarlet" earned approximately 270 million yen (around $1.8 million) with about 170,000 admissions, opening in third place, far short of the blockbuster launch of Hosoda's previous film "Belle," which went on to gross 6.6 billion yen (approximately $44 million).

By its second week, "Scarlet" had dropped out of the top 10 at the Japanese box office. Review aggregator Filmarks shows a score of 2.9 out of 5, while Eiga.com rates it at 3.0.

Key Criticisms from Japanese Audiences

Script and Narrative Issues: Many found the story difficult to follow, with unexplained plot elements and abrupt developments. The sudden appearance of a modern Japanese character in a medieval Danish setting confused viewers, as did the appearance of a deus ex machina dragon that resolves conflicts throughout the film.

The Controversial Shibuya Dance Scene: Perhaps the most discussed element is a musical sequence where Scarlet and Hijiri suddenly appear dancing in modern-day Shibuya, Tokyo. Critics called this scene jarring and inconsistent with the film's medieval fantasy aesthetic.

Solo Screenwriting Concerns: There's an ongoing debate in Japan about Hosoda's decision to write his scripts alone. His most acclaimed works, "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" and "Summer Wars," were written with screenwriter Satoko Okudera. Since "The Boy and the Beast," Hosoda has written solo, and many fans attribute the declining critical reception to this change.

How the Film Landed Abroad

It premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in September 2025 and was subsequently selected for the 50th Toronto International Film Festival and the 63rd New York Film Festival.

The foreign response was not uniform, though. Screen Daily credited the film with conjuring evocative worlds and intensely emotional set pieces, while IndieWire dismissed it as a Hamlet with nothing to say. Its Rotten Tomatoes score sits in the low seventies, well below the 90-plus marks held by "Wolf Children," "The Boy and the Beast," and "Belle." On IMDb it holds a 6.4, higher than its Japanese review-site scores but hardly a rave.

Understanding the Evaluation Gap

Different Expectations for Hosoda Films

Japanese audiences have come to expect a certain aesthetic from Hosoda: bright skies, heartwarming family stories, and accessible entertainment. Films like "Summer Wars" and "Wolf Children" set an expectation that a dark revenge story in medieval Europe was never going to meet.

International audiences, particularly in festival circuits, often approach Hosoda's work from a different perspective. Many consider "Mirai" his defining work rather than "Summer Wars," predisposing them to appreciate his more experimental efforts.

Familiarity with Western Literary Tradition

"Scarlet" draws heavily from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Dante's "Divine Comedy." This literary foundation resonates more naturally with Western audiences who recognize these references and appreciate how Hosoda subverts classical narratives.

For Japanese general audiences without this literary context, the film's structure and thematic development can seem arbitrary or confusing rather than deliberately allusive.

Social Media Dynamics

The film faced negative buzz on Japanese social media even before release, with the controversial trailer creating a "pile-on" atmosphere. Some observers note that expressing positive opinions about "Scarlet" online invites accusations of contrarianism, creating a hostile environment for balanced discourse.

Different Animation Evaluation Criteria

International animation festivals often prioritize technical innovation and auteur vision. "Scarlet"'s hybrid approach, combining 2D character animation with photorealistic CG backgrounds, represents exactly the kind of boundary-pushing technique that earns recognition in these circles.

Japanese anime fans, however, tend to prioritize narrative engagement and character connection over technical achievement. Revolutionary visuals alone cannot compensate for perceived storytelling weaknesses.

Hosoda's Position in Global Animation

Mamoru Hosoda remains one of the few Japanese animation directors outside Studio Ghibli to achieve significant international recognition. He has been considered a frontrunner for "the next Miyazaki" alongside Makoto Shinkai, though Shinkai has achieved three consecutive 10-billion-yen blockbusters while Hosoda's highest-grossing film remains "Belle" at 6.6 billion yen.

The Annie Award nominations demonstrate that the international animation community still values Hosoda's artistic ambitions. His conscious pivot toward global themes and markets is evident, suggesting he may continue producing work that divides domestic and international audiences.

The Bigger Picture: Art vs. Commerce

The same choices read differently on either side of the Pacific. What Japanese audiences call narrative incoherence, some foreign critics call a big swing; what feels like a betrayal of an established brand at home reads as evolution abroad.

Animation history is full of films dismissed on release and reappraised later. Whether "Scarlet" follows that path is open, but the gap between what Japanese audiences wanted from a Hosoda film and what he wanted to make is hard to argue away. Closing that gap, or shifting his center of gravity overseas, is the choice his next film will answer.

Update: The 53rd Annie Awards were held in Los Angeles on February 21, 2026, and "Scarlet" lost in all three categories. The Netflix film "KPop Demon Hunters" took 10 awards, including Best Feature, Best Direction, and Best Writing. Domestically the film never recovered: its final Japanese gross was reported at roughly 600 to 700 million yen (about $4 million). At a February 16 press briefing, an executive at Nippon TV, one of the film's backers, acknowledged the poor run and pointed to negative campaigning on social media.

Are there films in your country that were criticized domestically but gained recognition abroad? Have you experienced movies that were evaluated very differently across national boundaries? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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