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The 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 took place on May 25, in Tokyo. The event celebrated the best anime of the past year. More than 51 million fans from around the world voted to choose their favorites. The awards honored top anime shows, movies, characters, and creators in many different categories. Here’s a full list of the winners:
🏆 Anime of the Year – Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling written by Chugong, won the Anime of the Year award because it was both very popular and praised by critics. The anime is based on a hit Korean webtoon and became a favorite around the world. It impressed fans with exciting fights, emotional moments, and the amazing growth of the main character, Sung Jinwoo. The animation by A-1 Pictures and the powerful music by Hiroyuki Sawano made every episode feel special for the fans.
🔁 Best Continuing Anime – Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc
Even after many seasons, Demon Slayer still shows why it’s one of the biggest anime series. The Hashira Training Arc had fewer fights than earlier parts, but it gave us a closer look at the Hashira, their personalities, challenges, and beliefs. The story focused on strong character moments and beautiful animation, helping prepare for the final battles. Ufotable’s animation is still the best, making this arc great to watch and full of emotion.
😂 Best Comedy Anime – Mashle: Magic and Muscles
Mashle gave fans a fun mix of silly jokes, crazy humor, and surprising emotion. The story is about Mash Burnedead, a boy with no magic in a world full of magic, who fixes every problem by using his fists. The show’s funny timing, over-the-top faces, and playful take on magical school stories made it a fun and refreshing watch that kept fans laughing all season.
🎨 Best Animation – Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc
No surprise, Ufotable’s animation is still amazing. In the Hashira Training Arc, they made even the calm scenes look beautiful with great lighting, smooth scene changes, and detailed character faces that showed emotions well. Whether it was a sunrise or a short training fight, every scene was made with great skill and attention to detail.
👤 Best Main Character – Sung Jinwoo (Solo Leveling)
Sung Jinwoo’s story was more than just about getting stronger, it was about courage, sacrifice, and staying strong through hard times. He started as the world’s weakest hunter and became a powerful shadow monarch even gods feared. His calm determination and strong sense of duty touched many fans, making him a great example of growing stronger no matter the challenges.
🎶 Best Anime Song – “Otonoke” by Creepy Nuts (Dan da Dan)
“Otonoke” was more than just a song, it had a special feeling. Creepy Nuts created a lively and catchy opening for Dan da Dan that matched the anime’s exciting and supernatural story. As soon as the music started, fans loved it. The song’s fun beat, smart words, and how well it fit with the opening scenes made it very popular and perfect for the show.
🎭 Best Drama – Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End became very special to fans because of its deep feelings and calm story. Instead of many big fights, the story focused on memories, regrets, and quiet talks. As Frieren looked back on her adventures years after her friends were gone, the anime showed themes of sadness, what people leave behind, and slowly healing over a long life.
💕 Best Romance – Blue Box
Blue Box showed a real and warm story about young love and sports. Instead of big surprises, it focused on simple everyday moments, quick looks, quiet support, and slowly understanding love. The relationship between Taiki and Chinatsu felt real, and the way the story was told kept fans interested and feeling for the characters.
🎙️ Best Voice Actor Performance (Japanese) – Aoi Yuki as Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries)
Aoi Yuki did an amazing job as the voice of Maomao. She showed Maomao’s smartness, attitude, curiosity, and strong spirit in a very natural way. Whether solving a palace mystery or making funny comments, her voice made the character more interesting and full of life. Yūki’s skill to change her voice from funny to serious made her one of the best voice actors this year.
👥 Best Supporting Character – Fern (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
Fern’s calm strength and smart feelings made her an important character in Frieren. As Frieren’s student and support, she added kindness, humor, and a quiet maturity that fit well with the story. Her change from a shy young mage to a trusted friend was moving and felt real.
🎬 Best Director – Keiichiro Saito (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
Keiichiro Saito’s work as director made Frieren a special kind of anime, one that makes you think and feel calm. The way he chose the speed, camera angles, and quiet moments gave the show its beautiful and sad feeling. Every slow shot and well-timed scene made Frieren’s story feel more emotional. Instead of rushing, he let the story take its time, creating a peaceful mood that stayed with viewers.