Oni: Thunder God’s Tale is a three-dimensional stop-motion Japanese animated limited series on Netflix. It’s an incredible series that has recently bagged two prizes in the TV/media category at Annie’s.

Directed by Daisuke Tsutsumi, Oni has won two awards – Production Design and Limited series. The director expressed happiness over receiving the awards among other premium-quality animation work.

Oni has a 100% rating on rotten tomatoes, making it a must-watch anime series. Daisuke Tsutsumi has taken years from the conception of Oni to share a story of Japanese cultural heritage.

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale Storyline

Oni has a unique storyline based on “Onari’s Lullaby” by Emi Tsutsumi. Also, the series takes inspiration from several Janapes folklore by featuring the journey of Onari, who protects her village from Oni.

Onari takes a path less traveled to discover her powers and rises to the occasion of saving the village from a mysterious and notorious group of Oni.

The story revolves around Japanese mythology, however, with a modern twist to grab the attention of the millennial audience. In a world of gods and monsters, a free-spirited daughter Onari chooses a distinctive path of heroes; however, she has some hidden powers that will reveal in time.

If you wonder how Onari controls and recognizes her powers and uses them to save her peaceful village from the monsters, you must watch the minted series yourself.

Daisuke Tsutsumi, the director of Oni, has spent years working in the American animation industry and has always wanted to showcase native Japanese stories. He has bagged several awards while showcasing his work in Ice Age, Toy Story 3, Horton, and many others.

On March 4, 2019, Daisuke Tsutsumi unveiled the Oni project in his animation studio while the first-ever footage was released at the Tonko House Film Festival during the spring of 2019.

Netflix collaborated with Toko House on November 21, 2019, for Oni’s joint production and streaming. The first teaser of Oni was released on June 2, 2022, while the series on-aired on Netflix on September 25, 2022.

Annie Awards are among the prestigious awards that recognize animes and films for their exceptional contribution to the art of animation annually. Oni bagged two awards at the 50th Annie Awards, which certainly paid off the hard work of the director, producer, and all the cast.

Other Nominated Japanese Anime

Besides Oni, another fancy musical named “Inu-Oh,” was nominated for Best Writing and Indie Feature; however, it didn’t win any awards.

On the other hand, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” successfully grabbed five awards at Annie’s, including Best Feature, which is indeed an outstanding achievement. Not only that, but it also won the Golden Globe for best-animated features back in January 2023.

Final Verdict

Oni receiving two awards is a huge accomplishment of Daisuke Tsutsumi and the Toko House, the production house. Interestingly, Tinko House has one studio in California and another in Kanazawa.

If you haven’t watched it yet, what are you waiting for? Add Oni to your watchlist to enjoy this incredible anime series with friends and family.