^{Credit: Lazarus (Adult Swim, HBO Max)}

Last year, the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program went to Blue Eye Samurai, which drew heavily from Eastern animation. The year before that, the winner was The Simpsons for “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII,” which included a parody of the anime Death Note. This seemed to be setting the stage for anime to have a major breakthrough at the Emmys. This year, two anime series were submitted for Outstanding Animated Program consideration: Solo Leveling, which won Anime of the Year at the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and Lazarus, the latest work from Shinichirō Watanabe. Crunchyroll gave Solo Leveling a proper push, holding an FYC event last April. Regardless, neither show was nominated for Animated Program. However, composer Kamasi Washington got into Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for Lazarus.

Washington’s theme, entitled “Vortex,” sets a tone for this slick sci-fi series about a ragtag group of outcasts tasked with tracking down the mysterious creator of a so-called “miracle drug.” Interestingly, Lazarus is one of two Adult Swim shows this year about a cure that comes at a cost, the other being Common Side Effects, which was nominated for Animated Program. From Cowboy Bebop to Samurai Champloo, music has always played an integral role in Shinichirō Watanabe’s directorial outings. If not Outstanding Animated Program, it’s fitting that the first nomination for a Watanabe show would be for music. If Washington can pull off a victory, Lazarus will be the first anime to win a Primetime Emmy since Afro Samurai: Resurrection in 2009.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection was nominated in Outstanding Animated Program (More Than One Hour), losing to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: “Destination Imagination.” Afro Samurai’s art director, Shigemi Ikeda, did receive an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation. Lazarus is the first anime to receive an Emmy nomination since Afro Samurai… in the U.S., at least. At the International Emmy Kids Awards, Digimon Xros Wars: The Boy Hunters Who Leapt Through Time, Shimajiro no Wow!, Design Ah!, To Your Eternity, and Rilakkuma's Theme Park Adventure have all been nominated for Best Kids: Animation. The only anime to win in this category was Ronja, the Robber's Daughter from Goro Miyazaki - Hayao Miyazaki’s son.

Regardless, at the Primetime Emmys, there’s a sixteen-year gap between Afro Samurai’s win and Lazarus’ nomination. Part of that’s because some of the most popular anime from the past decade and a half (such as Attack on Titan) weren’t even submitted. That said, more anime have been throwing their hats into the ring as of late. Fena: Pirates Princess and Ranking of Kings were submitted in 2022. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was entered in 2023. Pluto and Ninja Kamui were potential contenders in 2024. None of the above were nominated, but submitting is a start.

It’s worth noting that Shigemi Ikeda’s Emmy for Afro Samurai was a non-competitive, jury award. If Washington takes home Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music, Lazarus will be the first anime to win a competitive Primetime Emmy. Lazarus is nominated against Dept. Q, Dune: Prophecy, The Residence, The White Lotus, and Your Friends & Neighbors. Cristobal Tapia de Veer won three years earlier for The White Lotus Season One. On Gold Derby, The White Lotus is expected to repeat, while Lazarus is ranked last in the odds.

Lazarus has another hurdle it has to overcome. In this category’s history, an animated show has never won. The last animated program to even be nominated was Phineas and Ferb in 2007. Phineas and Ferb lost to Pirate Master, a reality show nobody remembers with an even more forgettable theme. When I interviewed Dan Povenmire for my book, Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows, he said, “My revenge is that there's an entire generation of twenty-somethings who can sing every lyric to the Phineas and Ferb theme song twenty years after we wrote it and nobody remembers Pirate Master."

While neither Lazarus nor Solo Leveling could break into Outstanding Animated Program this year, Washington’s nomination seems like a stepping stone to even better things to come. The second season of Dandadan recently started, and new episodes of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End are expected to be released in early 2026. Both shows would thus fall under next year’s Emmy eligibility cycle, assuming they’re submitted. Japanese animation also seems to be reaching a turning point at the Oscars with The Boy and the Heron winning Best Animated Feature two years ago, while Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet is expected to be a contender this year. Perhaps anime is no longer a niche art form in the West, but rather, mainstream. Whether or not Lazarus wins, anime is rising, and not just on the awards front. 

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1 and 2. Available Now!