Every year, the Crunchyroll Anime Awards promise to celebrate the best in anime, but just as often, they spark debate. On April 3, Crunchyroll, a streaming platform service designed for anime shows, exclusives, Asian dramas and manga, opened voting to the public for the annual anime awards. The awards are a global event that celebrates the best anime series, films, characters, creators and voice actors from the previous years. Established in 2017, the awards feature over 30 categories and are announced in a live ceremony. From surprise wins to predictable sweeps, this year’s awards should be no exception.
Unexpected hits
The choices this year have been interesting, with unexpected animes rising up in the charts of popular awards like Anime of the Year, Best New Series, and Best Anime Song. “Takopi’s Original Sin” was the most unpopular highly rated show compared to the rest with contenders like “Gachiakuta,” “My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON” and “The Apothecary Diaries.” While “Takopi’s Original Sin” wasn’t me or Victoria’s favorite anime, it tackled deep topics that should be discussed in regular society, along with having a morally gray cast of characters that drew the audience’s attention. “Takopi’s Orginal Sin” touched on mental health aspects, along with how someone not knowledgable on that topic handles it. It also dives deep into the high school culture in Japan where bullying and high standards are one of the biggest issues there. The romance genre also had its peak with “Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity,” nominated for many popular awards, and “Clevatess” becoming a nominee for Best New Series. While we don’t anticipate these winning any big categories, it’s awesome to see some unexpected choices nominated for these kinds of awards rather than just popular ones.
Different genre awards
The Crunchyroll Anime Awards hold seven genre-based awards for best romance, action, Isekai anime, comedy, drama and slice of life. Widely known nominees such as “DanDaDan: Season 2″ for Best Comedy, Romance and Action, as well as “SPY x FAMILY: Season 3” in the running for Best Slice of Life and Comedy. As expected however, action-heavy anime continues to dominate major categories. Series like “Jujutsu Kaisen” showcased more cinematic sequences and high-stakes becoming more popular on social media platforms as its anticipated third season came out earlier this year. However, genres like romance and comedy have held their ground and found a lot more success than action-filled ones. Animes like the “Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity,” “Apothecary Diaries” and “The Summer Hikaru Died” became increasingly popular over the last year having some of the first non-action anime to become nominated for many categories.
Potential sweeps
While many different animes have entered this awards season, longer running franchises and visually stunning productions along with animes making their way onto mainstream media once again may position themselves as frontrunners. Series like “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” and “Jujitsu Kaisen” have consistently earned many nominations and awards, with “Demon Slayer” earning 19 awards and Jujitsu Kaisen earning 22 in a very short time. While this year, it doesn’t seem like they’ll take many awards, “DanDaDan” and “Gachiakuta” have been shown to be nominated for many top awards. With strong animation, emotional stakes and massive fanbases, these two shows have potential to secure many wins for their communities and give insight of what audiences’ value most at the given moment.
Anime opener and song hits
The variety of tracks nominated for Best Anime Song, Score, Opening and Ending Sequence overarch different genres of music. The Best Anime Song nominees, such as “IRIS OUT” by Kenshi Yonezu from “Chainsaw Man- The Movie: Reze Arc” with its modern beats and hyper tempo, and the bubbly melodies in Yoasobi’s “Watch Me!” from “Witch Watch,” the awards’ contenders have tight competition. Overarching favorites for the competition include “Chainsaw Man- The Movie: Reze Arc” for Best Anime Song and Score along with Solo Leveling Season Two for Best Anime Song, Opening Sequence, and Ending Sequence. Our personal highlights would be for Chainsaw Man or “Gachiakuta” to win Best Score from its intense popularity across the internet along with its immersive capabilities inside the story and “SPY x FAMILY: Season 3” for Best Ending Sequence for its homely touch that amplifies the emotions created by the show.
Character awards
Characters are the establishing force around a show, and the Best Main, Supporting and “Must Protect At All Costs” Character categories honor the depth and complexity of the people’s favorites. Standout popular picks like Momo and Okarun from “DanDaDan” for their humor and compatible chemistry along with returning winner Anya Forger for “Must Protect At All Costs” Character for her silly reputation and expressive facial expressions. Although they are great characters, our winners would be Enjin from “Gachiakuta” as Best Supporting Character from his blunt teachings that hold weight for the protagonist, as well as Anya for “Must Protect At All Costs” Character for similar reasons caused by her popularity. However, some characters pose controversy for their nominations, such as Mao Mao from “Apothecary Diaries” up for “Must Protect At All Costs” sparking debate over whether they fit the category due to their brutally honest nature.
What’s next?
The Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 will be held in Tokyo, Japan, hosting notable presenters such as The Weeknd, RZA and Winston Duke. Voting for picking the winners closes April 15. at 11:59 p.m., while the ceremony takes place on May 23. We’re both excited to see and be introduced to new animes through this event along with being able to cheer on shows we think should be able to take the win this award season. If we know anything about the award seasons in years past along with animes this year, is that anime continues to evolve in ways to keep fans guessing.
This article was edited by Trisha Panicker, Kate Duncan, and Emily Logan.
