Sekiro: No Defeat (2026) Fantasia 2026

SEKIRO NO DEFEAT made my jaw drop and my eyes go wide. A true cinematic piece of art this is one of the greatest works of animated art from the last 25 years that I’ve run across. The images are stunning and this should be running continuously in a fine art museum.(The image of Wolf's father's face near the end is one of the greatest pieces of character animation I have ever seen)

And it’s a film that kicks your ass emotionally.

Set in a Japan of warring nations the film follows a young noble man, who has had everything taken from him with the exception of one shinobi, a man named Wolf. Wolf has sworn an oath to protect the young man. As a result of the noble’s possessing dragon blood neither can die. It is a power that other warring factions want and the reason they are trying to capture the boy. It is a violent tale of honor and loyalty and what it means to be alive and human.

I love this film,

I love it so much I don’t know where to begin.

The artwork and the pacing and the editing are a mix of styles that leans heavily on classic art, theater and music. There are silences and pauses until there is an explosion of action and violence. Everyone is trying to live according to their code. It is a deeply philosophical film.

The film is beautiful.

I adore that the images go from stills to regular animation, to painting to 3D amination back to 2D one to something else. Director Kenichi Kutsuna​cc does what ever is needed to make each and every moment pitch perfect. I don’t know if it was intended to be like this or a result of budgetary issues, but it doesn’t matter since every choice is perfect. This is a work of cinematic story telling, period full stop. It is not just an animated film but something higher, like the work of the great live action directors, Akira Kurasowa being the most obvious one.

I spent much of the film talking to no one about what a glorious achievement this is. Yes, I have seen films that have mixed styles but way too few actually manage to meld it all together in one. Even the pacing which can seem painfully slow at times is actually dead nuts on  point because when the conclusion comes and suddenly everything happens quicker, the pacing seems even more rapid fire and frenetic.

This is cinema at the highest level.

One of the truly great films of 2026- and one of the greatest works of animation that I’ve seen.