The Oscar noms came out this week, and yeah, we know: KPop Demon Hunters is going to score double-wins. But the bigger news for the kids industry? Wicked and anime were both totally shut out. We can sort of understand the Wicked snub because it got so many nods last year, but the Academy might be showing its age by not acknowledging the cultural surge of Japanese animation. Mark our words, when today’s kids grow up, it’ll be Naruto and One Piece movies all down the ballot.

Here’s hoping we didn’t leave anybody out in our own nominations for this week’s Gold Star: 

MAPPA: The Japanese studio behind many of the modern anime hits you’ve heard of—Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Vinland Saga, Chainsaw Man—has just scored a landmark Netflix deal to co-develop its upcoming projects with the streamer. Most anime studios need the help of Japanese broadcasters to get their productions off the ground, but this breaks the mold, with Netflix directly backing the internationally renowned studio. It’s a win-win for everybody: MAPPA keeps its independence, and Netflix feeds its starving global anime fanbase and gets to leverage these upcoming series with L&M programs. Hopefully it all means the studio’s animators will get to catch a break.

Jeremy Padawer: When he’s not busy buying nostalgic toys on eBay or rebuilding his vault of legendary collectibles, Jeremy Padawer is installed at Jazwares as chief brand officer—until March, that is, when he will take over from Laura Zabersky and sit in the president’s chair. Padawer has been a crucial part of Jazwares’ leadership team since he joined in 2019, paving the way for the toyco to become a major player by picking up toy rights left, right and center for franchises like Pokémon, AEW and Fortnite, and building multiple co-branded deals for its iconic Squishmallows plush. Jazwares may be heading into a new era without the Zaberskys, but it’s staying in safe hands. 

The Jim Henson Company: Lore Olympus is the god of WEBTOONS, with more than 1.4 billion views, and its TV adaptation has just been greenlit. A retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Persephone, it’s a story of magic and romance, themes Henson is returning to decades after its release of Labyrinth in the ’80s. Meant to appeal to Prime Video’s growing YA audience, this already mega-popular tale could be an Olympic-sized hit—and ground zero for a deluge of webtoon adaptations that are sure to follow in its wake. 

Pillango Productions: It turns out Netflix is a K-pop stan. Pillango Productions’ Sarah Haasz, creator of the Canadian live-action K-pop tween series Gangnam Project, just got a mic-drop of a deal (secured by Federation Kids & Family) from the streamer, which is giving this cool show a huge international rollout. This acquisition makes total sense, given that Netflix is still riding high on KPop Demon Hunters’ mind-blowing success. Haasz hopes the deal, and the fact that the whole world is playing “Golden” on repeat, will help her get a greenlight for a third season. 

Pierre Sissmann: Here’s a deal that could stand shoulder to shoulder with Gigantosaurus. Remember when Cyber Group Studios was liquidated last year? Well, the studio’s assets were auctioned off this month, and its hands-on co-founder Pierre Sissmann joined forces with co-producer Euro Visual to buy back most of the catalogue—1,000-plus hours of content representing everything he had a hand in writing. This move keeps Sissmann close to the franchises he helped develop as they’re rejuvenated under Euro Visual. Hopefully this means Cyber’s biggest IP won’t go extinct after all. 

But who had the best week of all? Vote here: