Crunchyroll Anime Awards

Crunchyroll Anime Awards
Current: 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards
Awarded forBest in anime of the previous year
Country
  • United States
  • Japan
Presented byCrunchyroll
First awardedJanuary 11, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-01-11)
Websitecrunchyroll.com/animeawards

The Crunchyroll Anime Awards, also known simply as The Anime Awards, are awards given annually by the anime streaming service Crunchyroll to recognize the best anime of the previous year. Announced in December 2016, the awards were first presented in January 2017.[1] Crunchyroll describes it as a "global event that recognizes the anime shows, characters, and artists that fans around the world love most."[2]

The 8th ceremony was held on March 2, 2024, in Tokyo, Japan. Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 won the Anime of the Year award.

Process

The awards have two rounds of voting. Initially, each judge will submit up to five potential candidates for each category. Six candidates that received the highest amount of nominations from this round will be included in the final list for the next round, which is a one-week public voting. Winners for each category are determined by the most amount of judge and public votes weighted in a 70:30 ratio respectively since at least the 6th edition.[3]

For the first six editions of the awards, any anime that was produced by primarily in Japan and released legally on television, cinema, or online from January to December of the previous year were eligible for nomination. The eligibility period was changed for the 7th and 8th editions, from October of the previous two years (Fall season) to September of the previous year (Summer season). However, in December 2024, Crunchyroll announced that starting from the 10th edition onwards, the eligibility period will return to its previous format of eligibility from January to December, with the eligibility period for the 9th edition covering October 2023 to December 2024 to accommodate the change in format.[4][5] Eligible nominations for non-Japanese VA Performance are based on the initial release of the dub irrespective of when the anime was originally released.[3]

The set of categories that will be presented varies for each edition, with categories added, removed, or otherwise renamed. The 9th edition, for example, will feature 32 categories.[4]

Categories

Current

Special

  • Industry Icon Award (2018–2020)
  • Special Achievement Award (since 2023)
  • Presenter's Choice (since 2023)

Former

  • Best Protagonist (2017–2022)
  • Best Antagonist (2017–2022)
  • Best Boy (2017–2022)
  • Best Girl (2017–2022)
  • Best Fantasy (2020–2024)
  • Best Fight Scene (2017–2022)
  • Most Heartwarming Scene (2017)
  • Best CGI (2018)
  • Best Cinematography (2024)
  • Best Manga (2018)
  • Best Couple (2017–2018; 2020–2021)
  • Best VA Performance (RU) (2022)

Hero of the Year and Villain of the Year awards were renamed as "Best Hero" and "Best Villain" respectively in 2018. However, they were renamed again in 2019 as "Best Protagonist" and "Best Antagonist" respectively.[6] On the same edition, "Best Opening" and "Best Ending" were renamed as "Best Opening Sequence" and "Best Ending Sequence" as well. In 2024, "Best Film" and "Best Art Direction" were renamed as "Film of the Year" and "Best Background Art" respectively.

Editions

Ceremony Date Anime of the Year
1st Crunchyroll Anime Awards January 28, 2017 Yuri on Ice
2nd Crunchyroll Anime Awards February 24, 2018 Made in Abyss
3rd Crunchyroll Anime Awards February 16, 2019 Devilman Crybaby
4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards February 15, 2020 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards February 19, 2021 Jujutsu Kaisen
6th Crunchyroll Anime Awards February 9, 2022 Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 1
7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards March 4, 2023 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards March 2, 2024 Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards May 25, 2025[4] TBA

9th edition

The 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards will be held on May 25, 2025 at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa in Tokyo, Japan. It will be hosted by Sally Amaki and Jon Kabira, who both hosted the previous two ceremonies. Announced during Crunchyroll's industry panel at CCXP 2024 in São Paulo, Brazil, anime series released from October 2023 to December 2024 are eligible for this edition, with Crunchyroll further noting that future editions will feature anime series released from January to December. This edition will feature 32 categories, including new categories for Best Background Art, Best Isekai Anime, and Best VA Performance (Hindi). Categories were revealed on December 6. Nominees will be revealed on April 3, the first day of public voting, which will run until April 14.[4]

Notable awards and nominees

Series

Films

Records (as of March 2024)

Nominees

  • Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen earned the highest nominations in each year with 44.
  • Chainsaw Man earned the highest nominations in a single year / edition (8th) with 25.
  • Megalo Box and Wonder Egg Priority are the two anime series to receive the most nominations with 11, without a win.
    • Wonder Egg Priority is the only original anime series to receive the most nominations without a win and did not nominate the Anime of the Year category.
  • Suzume earned the most nominations for films with 6.
  • Jujutsu Kaisen earned the most nominations for a franchise with 48.

Winners

See also

References

  1. ^ "Crunchyroll Announces Its First Ever Anime Awards". Anime News Network. December 21, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "How It Works | The Anime Awards - Crunchyroll". Crunchyroll Anime Awards (crunchyroll.com/animeawards). Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Coats, Cayla (January 21, 2022). "How Anime Awards Judging Works and How Winners Are Chosen". Crunchyroll. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Crunchyroll Anime Awards Returns to Tokyo on May 25, 2025". Crunchyroll News (crunchyroll.com/news). Crunchyroll. December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  5. ^ "How It Works". Crunchyroll Anime Awards (crunchyroll.com/animeawards). Crunchyroll. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (January 12, 2019). "Megalobox, Devilman crybaby Dominate Crunchyroll Anime Award's Nominations". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  7. ^ Wolf, Ian (January 30, 2017). "Yuri!!! On Ice wins Crunchyroll's "Anime of the Year" Award – Angering Crunchyroll users". Anime UK News. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.