Harvey Awards Just Nominated Five Anime — and the Race Is Anyone's to Win

Comics' biggest night just got a lot more animated. The 2026 Harvey Awards have announced their nominees, and anime fans have serious reasons to pay attention: five anime productions are competing for honors this year, standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the biggest comic-book adaptations on television. When the ceremony takes place at New York Comic Con, at least one corner of the winners' stage is going to belong to Japan — the only question is which franchise takes it home.

The anime contingent is genuinely stacked. Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc represents the theatrical heavyweights, the film that turned Denji's most heartbreaking manga arc into a big-screen event. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle brings the box-office crown, the first chapter of the trilogy closing out the Demon Slayer saga. My Hero Academia – Final Season carries the weight of a decade-long television epic reaching its conclusion. Netflix's One Piece Season 2 represents the live-action-meets-anime crossover moment for the world's biggest pirate franchise. And Your Letter, the animated adaptation of Hyeon A. Cho's acclaimed WEBTOON, proves that webcomic adaptations are now competing at the same level as traditional manga properties.

A Field With No Easy Winner

What makes this year's race fascinating is that every nominee has a legitimate claim. Reze Arc is the critics' darling, the film that even skeptics admitted was one of the year's best movies, animated or otherwise. Infinity Castle is the commercial juggernaut, the kind of cultural event that award voters cannot ignore. The My Hero Academia final season is the emotional favorite, the culmination of a story an entire generation grew up with. One Piece Season 2 rides the momentum of the most-watched franchise on the planet. And Your Letter is the wild card — the quiet, emotional webtoon adaptation that could steal the whole thing on craft alone.

They are not competing in a vacuum, either. The same categories feature The Boys Season 5, Invincible Season 4, Peacemaker Season 2, Spider-Noir, and the LEGO Batman project — a murderers' row of western comic adaptations. That the anime nominees are not just present but genuinely competitive in that company says everything about where the industry stands in 2026.

The Bigger Picture

A decade ago, anime at an American comics awards show would have been a novelty — a token nod in a corner category. This year, anime productions are not just nominated; they are among the favorites, across films, final seasons, and streaming series alike. The nominations map the full spectrum of how Japanese storytelling now reaches global audiences: theaters, television finales, streaming originals, and webtoon adaptations.

Whoever wins at New York Comic Con, the real story is the lineup itself. Five anime, five different paths to the same stage, and not a weak entry among them. The Harveys have officially become must-watch television for anime fans — and this year's race might be the most unpredictable one yet.