It may be May, but there’s still awards to dole out for 2025. On Friday night, Crunchyroll held its annual anime awards, and the revealed winners were both fitting and kind of chaotic.
For the shonen heads, awards went out to the long-running series you’d expect—Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle took “Best Score” and “Film of the Year,” My Hero Academia’s wins included “Best Ending Sequence” and several regional voice acting awards, and so on. Gachiakuta, the current new kid on the block, also took home some gold for “Best New Series,” “Best Background Art,” and “Best Character Design.”
Other wins were complete surprises, though. The big one is “Best Original Anime” winner Lazarus, an anime which didn’t actually air on Crunchyroll in 2025; it was an Adult Swim/HBO Max series in North America and played on TV Tokyo in Japan. Some are going to cry foul at its quality, though, since its 60% community rating on Rotten Tomatoes clashes against its 92% critical consensus. However, this particular category feels a bit strange, given fellow nominees like Digimon Beatbreak and Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuux are less original works than Lazarus, Moonrise, or Apocalypse Hotel.
Here’s some of the Anime Award nominees and bolded winners below, with the full list here. You can decide for yourself whether Crunchyroll was right on the ball or missed the mark.
Anime of the Year
- My Hero Academia (Final Season)
- Dan Da Dan (Season 2)
- Gachiakuta
- The Summer Hikaru Died
- Takopi’s Original Sin
- The Apothecary Diaries (Season 2)
Film of the Year
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
- 100 Meters
- Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
- The Rose of Versailles
- Scarlet
- Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II – The Ashes of Rage
Best Continuing Series
- One Piece
- Dan Da Dan (Season 2)
- Kaiju No. 8
- My Hero Academia (Final Season)
- Spy x Family (Season 3)
- Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-
Best New Series
- Gachiakuta
- The Summer Hikaru Died
- Sakamoto Days
- Takopi’s Original Sin
- The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
- Clevatess
Best Original Anime
- Lazarus
- Apocalypse Hotel
- Digimon Beatbreak
- Moonrise
- Zenshu
- Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuux
Best Animation
- Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-
- Takopi’s Original Sin
- Gachiakuta
- Dan Da Dan (Season 2)
- My Hero Academia (Final Season)
- One Piece
Best Opening Sequence
- “On the Way” by Aina the End—Dan Da Dan (Season 2)
- “HUGs” by Paledusk—Gachiakuta
- “Mirage” by Creepy Nuts—Call of the Nights (Season 2)
- “The Revo” by Porno Graffitti—My Hero Academia (Final Season)
- “Watch me!” by Yoasobi—Witch Watch
- “ReawakeR” by Lisa—Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-
Best Ending Sequence
- “I” by Bump of Chicken—My Hero Academia (Final Season)
- “Actor” by Lilas—Spy x Family (Season 3)
- “Beautiful Colors” by OneRepublic—Kaiju No. 8
- “Doukashiteru” by WurtS—Dan Da Dan (Season 2)
- “Un-Apex” by TKfrom Ling Tosite Sigure —Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-
- “Kawaii Kawaii” by Piki—My Dress-Up Darling (Season 2)
Best Main Character
- Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries)
- Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)
- Momo Ayase (Dan Da Dan)
- Ken Takakura (Dan Da Dan)
- Sung Jinwoo (Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-)
- Rudo (Gachiakuta)
Best Supporting Character
- Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia)
- Enjin (Gachiakuta)
- Jiji (Dan Da Dan)
- Jinshi (The Apothecary Diaries)
- Turbo Granny (Dan Da Dan)
- Loulan/Shisui (The Apothecary Diaries)
Best Voice Artist Performance (Japanese)
- Aoi Yuki as Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries)
- Kikunosuke Toya as Denji (Chainsaw Man)
- Chiaki Kobayashi as Yoshiki Tsujinaka (The Summer Hikaru Died)
- Mayumi Tanaka as Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
- Daiki Yamashita as Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)
- Reina Ueda as Reze (Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc)
Best Voice Artist Performance (English)
- Lucien Dodge as Akaza (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle)
- Alexis Tipton as Reze (Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc)
- Justin Briner as Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)
- Emi Lo as as Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries)
- Morgan Berry as Shiori Fuyumura (Sanda)
- Paul Castro Jr. as Hikaru (The Summer Hikaru Died)
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