But more upsetting to Medina was the Hollywood Reporter's claim on Dec. 12 that the Academy actually returned the submission application for Atlantis back to Disney, giving the Hollywood mainstay the option to resubmit. Medina notes the hypocrisy in the Academy's comments concerning soliciting submissions. "Surely, sending the Atlantis application back to Disney to fix the mistake is no more or less solicitation than calling us about one missing document."

However, Vampire Hunter D did begin its submission process relatively late, allowing for little breathing room. And the Hollywood Reporter's account of the Atlantis fiasco wasn't entirely accurate. "The Disney submission for Atlantis was not returned to Disney and remains on file," Pavlik clarifies. "Disney had sent in the form with plenty of time to spare and was informed that they had listed three persons to accept the statuette, and that they would have to eliminate at least one of those persons."

But Pavlik also goes on to note that, "The oversight of Urban Vision with regard to the OSC form was…set aside and the film is included on the list of films being screened."

At any rate the question remains, why wasn't Urban Vision afforded the same consideration as a giant like Disney to begin with. Forgivingly, the Academy is laden with a committee-run bureaucracy, dealing with multitudinous paperwork, for which a seasoned player like Disney commands more recognition than a small time outfit like Urban Vision. However, the category only received thirteen submissions, a seemingly manageable number, and considering the nascence of the category, the office could grant the courtesy of one phone call to companies dealing with this process for the first time.

The Academy's flippancy, at least in regards to its correspondence with Urban Vision, bodes poorly for the Oscars legitimacy as a reflection of the absolute best in cinema. Some incredible animated films - such as Manga Entertainment's Blood - could very well be nudged out of the nomination process for technicalities that could easily be worked through.

Whether justifiably bumped from the Academy roster or not, and despite Urban Vision's triumph, Japanese animation may have to wait another year before getting another shot at being recognized in a global spotlight as far-reaching as the Oscars ceremony. Until the final nominations are announced, the world may only know of anime as Pokémon and Dragonball Z.