Our picks for the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards

Crunchyroll always seems to have endless ways to organize their anime. By genre, by language, or alphabetically by laughably long title. Every year they ask us, the fans, to choose our personal picks across a multitude of categories in their own Tournament Arc to see the absolute best that anime had to offer over the course of the last year.

I want to start as I guide you through the categories by stating that I will not be voting on the various "Best Voice Artist Performance" awards outside of English and Japanese. While I am certain that these artists put in an incredible performance, I only want to attest to what I have seen with my own eyes (or heard with my own ears).

I am going to take you through my picks in the order that Crunchyroll asks for votes, let's dive right in to the nominees for this year's Crunchyroll Anime Awards!

Anime of the Year

• DAN DA DAN 

• Delicious in Dungeon 

• Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 

• Kaiju No. 8 

• Solo Leveling 

• The Apothecary Diaries 

Kevin's Pick: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I spent a long time staring at this list of anime, hoping it would make the list easier to choose between. Any one of these shows could take the award and I would not complain. However, DAN DA DAN's "conclusion" left a sour taste for me, Solo Leveling was just getting to the meat of it (remember that this does not count Season 2) That being said, Frieren told a story about loss and valuing your time that I still think about very often. Plus they had a Muscle Mage, and I have to respect that.

Film of the Year

• HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle 

• Look Back 

• Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain 

• My Hero Academia: You’re Next 

• SPY x FAMILY CODE: White 

• The Colors Within

Kevin's Pick: SPY x FAMILY CODE: White. Admittedly, My Hero Academia's new movie is sitting on my media stand waiting for my next free evening. That being said, SPY x FAMILY came out with a fun romp for the Forgers full of new spins on classic gags that fans of the series will know and love. I will never pass up a chance to see Yor remind people why her title is Thorn Princess. They also had one advantage that the other nominees sorely lacked... Zeppelins!

Best Continuing Series

• BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc

• My Hero Academia, My Hero Academia Season 7

• ONE PIECE

• 【OSHI NO KO】【OSHI NO KO】Season 2

• SPY × FAMILY, SPY × FAMILY Season 2

Kevin's Pick: ONE PIECE. Yes, I know. But there is a reason why this award is nicknamed "The One Piece Award" in a lot of the anime community. Over a thousand episodes in, and it still has a fanbase that is rabid for any chance to talk about the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Best New Series

• DAN DA DAN

• Delicious in Dungeon

• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Kaiju No. 8

• Solo Leveling

• The Apothecary Diaries

Kevin's Pick: The Apothecary Diaries. This is another tough one, but for me I have to give it to The Apothecary Diaries. I love Solo Leveling, but I think the characters lack the same depth as some of the other shows nominated here. For me only two shows on this list got a number of non-anime fans that I personally know invested in their stories and characters on this scale. With Frieren already taking my pick for Anime of the Year, I have to give this one to the poison-loving servant girl. It's what Himmel the Hero would have wanted.

Best Original Anime

• BUCCHIGIRI?! 

• GIRLS BAND CRY 

• Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night  

• Metallic Rouge

• Ninja Kamui 

• Train to the End of the World

Kevin's Pick: Ninja Kamui. I'm going to be totally transparent. Generally, music-focused anime are not really my jam, one of few exceptions for me being Ya Boy Kongming. That being said, out of the remainder non-music categories, I was super intrigued by the intensity of Ninja Kamui. It was described to me as Cyberpunk John Wick with Ninjas and I can't really find a flaw in their logic.

Best Animation

• DAN DA DAN

• Delicious in Dungeon

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc

• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Kaiju No. 8

• Solo Leveling

Kevin's Pick: Solo Leveling. This was a tossup with DAN DA DAN for me. The scale of the battles shown each week are visually exciting, and while I still prefer the manhua's depictions. I still could not look away from the visceral and sometimes brutal action pieces.

Best Character Designs

• DAN DA DAN

• Delicious in Dungeon

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc

• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Kaiju No. 8

• The Apothecary Diaries

Kevin's Pick: DAN DA DAN. I nearly went Kaiju No. 8 here, but at the end of the day, every single character in DAN DA DAN is memorable. I can still remember every enemy faced by Momo and Okarun whereas apart from the main entries, I can't recall many of the character designs in Kaiju.

Best Director

• Fuga Yamashiro - DAN DA DAN

• Haruo Sotozaki - Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc

• Keiichiro Saito - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Megumi Ishitani - ONE PIECE FAN LETTER

• Norihiro Naganuma - The Apothecary Diaries

• Yoshihiro Miyajima - Delicious in Dungeon

Kevin's Pick: ONE PIECE FAN LETTER. Let's be real here, FAN LETTER was itself a love letter to the franchise with such care put into it that even though it could be fairly called filler, I want to know more about the characters that they introduced, their goals, stories, and where they end up. It helped make the great blue seas feel like the living and breathing world that Oda has been writing for decades.

Best Background Art

• DAN DA DAN

• Delicious in Dungeon

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc

• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Pluto

• The Apothecary Diaries

Kevin's Pick: Delicious in Dungeon. On the topic of living and breathing worlds, TRIGGER have done an amazing job of making the ecosystem of the dungeon feel lived in. Every unique area has incredible details in the background that remind me of the fantastical worlds of every D&D game I have ever played.

Best Romance

• A Sign of Affection

• Blue Box

• Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

• Ranma1/2

• Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

• The Dangers in My Heart Season 2

Kevin's Pick: The Dangers in My Heart Season 2. I haven't gotten to Blue Box yet, but based on character development alone, I have to give this to The Dangers in My Heart. I nearly did not come back after the first season, but I heard very good things and I really like the direction it was taken in. One of my biggest criticisms of similar shows is lack of advancing the storyline in a meaningful way. Killer job!

Best Comedy

• Delicious in Dungeon

• KONOSUBA -God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! 3

• MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc

• My Deer Friend Nokotan

• Ranma1/2

• SPY × FAMILY Season 2

Kevin's Pick: KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! 3. These lovable idiots just keep going with all of their incredibly useful talents, plus Aqua. The Explosion spinoff didn't really do it for me, but seeing the whole crew back at it with their shenanigans will always bring a smile to my face.

Best Action

• BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict

• DAN DA DAN

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc

• Kaiju No. 8

• Solo Leveling

• WIND BREAKER

Kevin's Pick: Solo Leveling. There isn't much to add here beyond what I talked about in Best Animation. These action set pieces don't miss, even knowing what is going to happen (Spoiler, Hunter Sung Wins. FATALITY).

Best Isekai Anime

• KONOSUBA -God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! 3

• Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Season 2, Cour 2)

• Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 3

• Shangri-La Frontier Season 2

• Suicide Squad ISEKAI

• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3

Kevin's Pick: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. I really wanted to show Shangri-La some recognition because I love everything that show is doing, and Re:ZERO is paying off long running plot lines, but I still remember the jaw dropping scenes near the end of this arc. All I will say is that whoever decided that Episode 22 would air on Father's Day, I JUST WANT TO TALK!

Best Drama

• A Sign of Affection

• DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION

• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• 【OSHI NO KO】Season 2

• Pluto

• The Apothecary Diaries

Kevin's Pick: The Apothecary Diaries. So I have yet to get to OSHI NO KO Season 2, but I will say that I enjoyed The Apothecary Diaries and trying to figure out the mysteries that Maomao is tackling was a genuine joy. It takes a level of skill to be able to drip-feed information in the mystery without losing the audience. Especially when so much of the audience is more invested in Maomao and Jinshi's relationship.

Best Slice of Life:

• Laid-Back Camp Season 3

• Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

• Mr. Villain's Day Off

• My Deer Friend Nokotan

• Sound! Euphonium 3

• The Dangers in My Heart Season 2

Kevin's Pick: The Dangers in My Heart Season 2. This one feels disingenuous as I did not get to most of the nominees on this list. That being said, The Dangers in My Heart topped the charts for weeks for a good reason.

Best Main Character

• Frieren - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Kafka Hibino - Kaiju No. 8

• Okarun - DAN DA DAN

• Maomao - The Apothecary Diaries

• Momo - DAN DA DAN

• Sung Jinwoo - Solo Leveling

Kevin's Pick: Frieren. Her arc has been incredible over the series as she comes to terms with the fact that she has outlasted nearly all of her friends and needs to value those that she has left. Even with little outward emotion, there is no doubt to the viewer that Frieren feels way more than she lets herself believe.

Best Supporting Character

• Fern - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Himmel - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Jinshi - The Apothecary Diaries

• Seiko - DAN DA DAN

• Senshi - Delicious in Dungeon

• Turbo Granny - DAN DA DAN

Kevin's Pick: Senshi.  He carried the show on his cooking pot laden back. I saw more Senshi cosplayers from Delicious in Dungeon at conventions last year than nearly any other cosplay that I recall noting last year. This man keeps his party eating GOOD in the dungeon. He is the sole cause of the massive surge in D&D cooking based characters.

Kevin’s picks for the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards

"Must Protect At All Costs" Character

• Anya Forger - SPY × FAMILY Season 2

• Frieren - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Okarun- DAN DA DAN

• Senshi - Delicious in Dungeon

• Tokiyuki Hojo - The Elusive Samurai

• Yuki Itose - A Sign of Affection

Kevin's Pick: Anya Forger. Having yet to see the last two nominees, by process of pure logic, Anya is the only one of the remaining options that cannot protect herself. This cinnamon roll is likely a shoe in for this category again.

Best Anime Song

• Abyss - Yungblud - Kaiju No. 8

• Bling-Bang-Bang-Born - Creepy Nuts - MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc

• Fatal - GEMN -【OSHI NO KO】Season 2

• LEveL - SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]: TOMORROW X TOGETHER - Solo Leveling

• Otonoke - Creepy Nuts - DAN DA DAN

• The Brave - YOASOBI - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Kevin's Pick: The Brave. Okay, yes, I am a big YOASOBI fan. Yet of these options, there is only one song that I would probably listen to outside of my anime OP playlist.

Best Score

• BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict- Shiro Sagisu

• DAN DA DAN - kensuke ushio

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc - Yuki Kajiura, Go Shiina

• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End - Evan Call

• Look Back - Haruka Nakamura

• Solo Leveling - Hiroyuki Sawano

Kevin's Pick: Solo Leveling. I don't tend to recall scores too well most of the time, but I thought Hiroyuki Sawano managed to hold the vibes of the show to a fantastic degree.

Best Opening Sequence

• Abyss - Yungblud - Kaiju No. 8

• Bling-Bang-Bang-Born - Creepy Nuts - MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc

• Fatal - GEMN - 【OSHI NO KO】Season 2

• LEveL - SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]: TOMORROW X TOGETHER - Solo Leveling

• Otonoke - Creepy Nuts - DAN DA DAN

• UUUUUS! - Hiroshi Kitadani - ONE PIECE

Kevin's Pick: Otonoke - Creepy Nuts - DAN DA DAN. While Abyss and LEveL easily got stuck in my head and were quick adds to my OP playlist, Otonoke absolutely nailed the tone and vibes present in the weird world of DAN DA DAN.

Best Ending Sequence

• Antanante - riria. - Ranma1/2

• Burning - Hitsujibungaku - 【OSHI NO KO】Season 2

• KAMAKURA STYLE - BotchiBoromaru - The Elusive Samurai

• Nobody - OneRepublic - Kaiju No. 8

• request - krage - Solo Leveling

• TAIDADA - ZUTOMAYO - DAN DA DAN

Kevin's Pick: request - krage - Solo Leveling. I was enraged every time the episode would end and I would be met with this ending instead of having more Solo Leveling to watch. But the song was interesting and blended well with the images that seem to show how unstable Sung Jinwoo has become in his humanity.

Best Voice Artist Performance (Japanese)

• Aoi Yuki (Maomao) - The Apothecary Diaries

• Atsumi Tanezaki (Frieren) - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

• Kenichi Suzumura (Bravern) - Brave Bang Bravern!

• Shion Wakayama (Momo)  - DAN DA DAN

• Sayaka Sembongi (Marcille) - Delicious in Dungeon

• Natsuki Hanae (Okarun) - DAN DA DAN

Kevin's Pick: Shion Wakayama (Momo) - DAN DA DAN. Most of these shows I watched dubbed with my wife who is new to anime, but I thoroughly enjoyed Shion Wakayama's performance as the very over the top Momo. She absolutely sells just how wacky the world is and her character's constantly overboiling emotions.

Best Voice Artist Performance (English)

• AJ Beckles (Okarun) - DAN DA DAN

• Aleks Le (Sung Jinwoo) - Solo Leveling

• Jessie James Grelle (Armin Arlelt) - Attack on Titan Final Season THE FINAL CHAPTERS Special 2

• Mallorie Rodak (Frieren) - Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

• Sarah Natochenny (Alya) - Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

• SungWon Cho (Senshi) - Delicious in Dungeon

Kevin's Pick: Aleks Le (Sung Jinwoo) - Solo Leveling. While I would still pay good money for a cookbook audiobook narrated by SungWon Cho, I am still blown away by Aleks Le's performance in Solo Leveling. He managed to sell the evolution of Sung Jinwoo from meek E-Rank to the absolute force of nature that he has become. His delivery of "ARISE" was everything that fans hoped it would be.

Sorry Mario, the results are in another castle

Sorry, I mean the results got isekai-ed by Truck-kun to another article... I am out of anime puns. If you made it this far, thank you for reading through me doing what every anime fan loves doing, sharing their opinions on the internet. My word is not an authority on these matters in any way beyond being a guy who loves this medium and likes to chat about it.

Voting on Crunchyroll can be done daily until April 14th at 11:59pm PST.