Netflix's stop-motion My Melody & Kuromi is nominated for an International Emmy
The Sanrio series from Wit Studio's Toruku label is one of four nominees in Kids: Animation at the 2026 International Emmy Awards, with winners named in New York on November 23.
Sanrio's rival pair is headed for the New York awards circuit. My Melody & Kuromi, Netflix's stop-motion series, has landed a nomination at this year's International Emmys, competing as one of four shows in the Kids: Animation race, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced.
Its rivals are Brazil's Irmão do Jorel Season 5, Germany's Lenas Hof and the United Kingdom's The Scarecrows' Wedding. Across the whole slate, the Academy named 64 nominees spread over 16 categories and 22 countries. The International Emmy World Television Festival runs in New York from November 20 to 22, and winners are revealed at the 54th gala there on November 23.
Puppets, pastries and a rivalry
The nomination lists the series as a Toruku from Wit Studio production for Netflix. Tomoki Misato directed from scripts by Shuko Nemoto, and the theme, "Kawaii", is sung by LE SSERAFIM with Gen Hoshino producing. All twelve episodes dropped at once in July 2025, a release pegged to half a century of My Melody and two decades of Kuromi.
The plot casts the two as rival shopkeepers facing each other on one road: My Melody's bakery thrives while the wagashi store Kuromi runs opposite sits empty, so Kuromi goes digging for the trick behind those cakes. A mysterious heart My Melody picks up in the woods, plus a baking showdown judged by a celebrated patissier named Pistachio, push events toward a crisis for their whole town.
This is not the show's first trophy-season appearance: it took the top animation prize at the Asian Academy Creative Awards 2025. Netflix streams it in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and 125 more territories.
