9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards

Categories for the 9th edition were revealed on December 6, 2024. Nominees were announced on April 3, 2025, in a livestream at Crunchyroll's YouTube channel. Dandadan received the most nominations with 22, followed by ''Frieren: Beyond Journey's End at 20, and Kaiju No. 8 and Delicious in Dungeon at 16. The four anime series were nominated for Anime of the Year, together with Solo Leveling and The Apothecary Diaries. All Anime of the Year nominees, except The Apothecary Diaries, were also nominated on the Best Animation category, together with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba; however, all Anime of the Year nominees were the new series. One Piece was nominated in the Best Continuing Series category for the third consecutive year, along with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. My Hero Academia which was also nominated in the aforementioned category, received the second Film of the Year nomination with the You're Next film, after Two Heroes which won previously in the third edition. Keiichirō Saitō was nominated again in Best Director for his work on Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, along with Haruo Sotozaki for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Akira Matsushima received a nomination in Best Character Design for the third consecutive year for his work on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Kensuke Ushio was nominated again for Best Score for his work on Dandadan, along with Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba''. Atsumi Tanezaki was nominated in the Best VA Performance (Japanese) category for the third consecutive year as Frieren. Among genre categories, Spy × Family was nominated in Best Comedy for the third consecutive year, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba for Best Action. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation was nominated for Best Isekai Anime, along with ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Oshi no Ko was nominated again for Best Drama. For character categories, Frieren was nominated for Best Main Character and "Must Protect at All Costs" Character. Two characters from both Dandadan (Seiko Ayase and Turbo Granny) and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Fern and Himmel), were nominated for Best Supporting Character, while Anya Forger of Spy × Family'' was nominated in the "Must Protect at All Costs" Character category for the third consecutive year. Five anime songs nominated for Best Anime Song were nominated for Best Opening Sequence as well: "Abyss" by Yungblud, "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" and "Otonoke" by Creepy Nuts, "Fatal" by Gemn, and "Level" by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]: Tomorrow X Together. Awards Solo Leveling won nine awards including Anime of the Year, the first for a manhwa adaptation. The win was described as a massive upset by news outlets, as ''Frieren: Beyond Journey's End was widely expected to win the top prize; it nevertheless won four awards including the inaugural Best Background Art and its director Keiichirō Saitō winning Best Director. Look Back won Film of the Year, with its director Kiyotaka Oshiyama receiving the award. Dandadan won three awards including Best Character Design, while Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba won Best Continuing Series and Best Animation. Ninja Kamui won Best Original Anime. Solo Leveling, Blue Box, Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, and Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World won the genre awards for Best Action, Best Romance, Best Comedy, Best Slice of Life, Best Drama, and the inaugural Best Isekai Anime respectively. Sung Jin-woo of Solo Leveling won Best Main Character, while Fern of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End won Best Supporting Character. Anya Forger won the "Must Protect at All Costs" Character award for the third consecutive year. "Otonoke" by Creepy Nuts won Best Anime Song and Best Opening Sequence, while "Request" by Krage won Best Ending Sequence. Hiroyuki Sawano won Best Score for his work on Solo Leveling. Aoi Yūki won Best Voice Acting (Japanese) for her work as Maomao in The Apothecary Diaries, while Aleks Le won Best Voice Acting (English) for his work as Sung Jin-woo in Solo Leveling''. Anime with multiple nominations == Presenters and performers ==

The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or a short monologue: The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, performed musical numbers: == Ceremony information ==

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 would feature anime series released from January to December. This edition featured 32 categories, including new categories for Best Background Art, Best Isekai Anime, and Best VA Performance (Hindi). Categories were revealed on December 6. Nominees were revealed on the first day of public voting, April 3. Voting closed on April 14. Controversies Solo Leveling winning Anime of the Year was described as an upset by news outlets, as it is widely expected that the award would be won by ''Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. The win sparked a debate among fans and critics; while Solo Leveling enjoyed significant popularity and won multiple categories, critics argued that Frieren'' had broader critical acclaim and a more consistent narrative. The decision led some viewers to question whether the awards were prioritizing hype and recency over artistic merit. However, it is argued that due to the popularity and appeal of Solo Leveling over Frieren, Solo Leveling deserved the title. Despite receiving 16 nominations, including Anime of the Year and Best Animation, Netflix's Delicious in Dungeon did not win a single award. This outcome led to speculation about a potential bias against non-Crunchyroll platforms, with many fans questioning whether the series was deliberately overlooked. == Notes ==