Crunchyroll recently shared the winners of their annual Anime Awards, where the best shows of the year are honored with awards for categories from Best Boy and Girl to Best Series. Hosted by WWE's Xavier Woods, the award show was eagerly watched by the fans who contributed to the 11 million votes cast before the live stream. The awards were distributed amongst fan-favorite series, with many scoring wins in more than one category.
All of these shows are worth the hype, and they are all worth checking out if you're looking for your next great watch. Below are the shows that fought their way up to the top, and the categories they won for.
11 Dororo: Best Character Design
Dororo is the story of a young boy whose samurai father offered the boy's organs to demons in exchange for immense power. After being rescued by a kind sage, the young boy, Hyakkimaru, hunts down the demons who took his body parts to regain them one at a time. Hyakkimaru is a fan favorite. The boy was nominated for both Best Boy and Best Protagonist. Dororo won the category of Best Character Design thanks to the expert art of designer Satoshi Iwataki (with original character design by Hiroyuki Asada).
10 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind: Best VA Performance (JP)
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure lives up to its name with its funky character designs and unique animation style. Golden Winds is the fourth season of the series, and one of the most beloved characters in this season is Bruno Bucciarati, who is a squad leader in the Passione gang.
Fans not only love Bruno's black bob hairdo and chest-exposing white suit, but they also appreciate the devotion his voice actor put into making the character come to life on the screen. Bruno Bucciarati's voice actor Yuichi Nakamura won the category of Best VA Performance (JP).
9 Carole & Tuesday: Best Score
Some fans expected Carole and Tuesday to be an underdog of the Anime Awards since the show streams on Netflix instead of Crunchyroll. This show follows the lives of rich girl Tuesday and the less-well-off Carole, who become fast friends as they come to realize their great potential as music partners. They then try to make a name for themselves in the dystopian world around them, where AI creates the majority of what mindless consumers enjoy. Featuring an expansive number of strong original songs including "The Loneliest Girl," this anime is well-deserving of its award for Best Score, composed by Mocky.
8 The Promised Neverland: Best Fantasy, Best Antagonist
The Promised Neverland tells the story of three orphans living at Grace Field House, where they are taken care of by their "mother" Isabella. At first, life at the orphanage seems lovely and serene. Things take a turn for the worse, however, once the kids discover what happens when other children leave the orphanage.
A powerful story combining elements of horror, thriller, and fantasy, The Promised Neverland is one of the most intense anime of the year, and won in two categories during the awards: Best Fantasy and Best Antagonist (Isabella).
7 Vinland Saga: Best Drama
Vinland Saga is the story of an ex-Viking named Thors, who tries to lead a simple, honest lifestyle with his wife and child. He cannot escape his past, however, and ends up returning to his old lifestyle with his son Thorfinn. This show is not afraid to expose the tragic nature of fighting and violence, and it sets the tone for what it was like to live during a great war in the 11th century. Vinland Saga was nominated for awards in 9 different categories including Anime of the Year and Best Animation. The series walked away with a win for the award of Best Drama.
6 Dr. Stone: Best Protagonist
3,700 years into the future, humans who were turned into living stone in the year 2038 begin to awaken, finding themselves in a world brimming with wildlife but lacking in human technology. Senku is the main protagonist of Dr. Stone. He is an incredibly talented scientist, who eventually creates the Stone Formula, which can awaken any person who is petrified. Senku is confident and charismatic, attracting both friends and enemies alike with his charm, and his strong personality has also made him the favorite of anime watchers this year. The fans voted him as the Best Protagonist of the year.
5 The Rising Of The Shield Hero: Best Girl, Best VA Performance (EN)
The Rising of the Shield Hero starts with nerdy college student Naofumi Iwatani opening a mysterious library book, which takes him away to a virtual world where he becomes one of four legendary heroes. When he is then falsely accused of crimes in this new world, Raphtalia is the only one to see his innocence.
Raphtalia stands out as a charming character who is demi-human, as seen with her animal ears and her rapid pace of physical maturity. She also goes through a great transformation throughout the series, starting as a slave and eventually being chosen as the Katana Hero. Raphtalia was the victor of this year's battle for the prestigious title of Best Girl. In addition to this award, Shield Hero's English voice actor Billy Kametz won the award of Best VA Performance (EN) for his portrayal of Naofumi.
4 Kaguya Sama: Love Is War: Best Couple, Best Ending Sequence, Best Comedy
Kaguya Shinomuta is the Vice President of the prestigious Shuchiin Academy, working alongside President Miyuki Shirogane. Both students are incredibly intelligent and successful, and everyone at their school thinks that they would make the perfect couple. Both, however, are in denial of their feelings for each other, and soon they start a game of war to see who will confess their feelings first. Kaguya Sama: Love Is War walked away with three category wins. Kaguya Shinomiya & Miyuki Shirogane won the title of Best Couple. Konomi Kohara's song "♪ Chikatto Chika Chikaa♡" won the award for Best Ending Sequence. And the overall show won the Best Comedy category.
3 Attack On Titan Season 3: Best Directors, Industry Icon
Attack on Titan has been a fan-favorite anime since its very first season, and season 3 lives up to the show's ambitious standards for quality in art and storytelling. Season 3 sets an incredibly bleak tone as fans see the despair surrounding the lives of Eren and his few remaining team members, who return to the ruins of the city they first came from. Attack On Titan holds its place as a legendary anime series for its wins in the categories of Best Directors (Tetsuro Araki, Chief Director and Masashi Koizuka, Director) and George Wada's award for Industry Icon.
2 Mob Psycho 100 II: Best Animation, Best Opening Sequence
Mob Psycho 100 II is the second season of this fantastic series. Its story follows Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo as he navigates his way through middle school, trying to balance making friends and getting fit with his after school job as an exorcist at Spirits and Such, run by con man and self-proclaimed psychic Reigen Arataka.
Celebrated as one of the most innovative anime of our time, Mob Psycho 100 features experimental animation that pushes the boundaries of its genre. Mob took the first win of the night for the category of Best Animation and later won for its Opening Sequence, "♪ 99.9" by MOB CHOIR feat. sajou no hana.
1 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba: Best Boy, Best Fight Scene, Best Anime Of The Year
Demon Slayer is currently one of the most popular shonen anime there is, so it is no wonder why the show won as many awards as it did. It tells the story of Tanjirō Kamado, whose family is killed by demons. He then becomes a demon slayer to seek revenge and to try and turn his sister back into a human after the attack left her as a demon. Coming out on top, Demon Slayer took home the categories of Best Boy (Tanjiro Kamado), Best Fight Scene (Tanjiro & Nezuko vs. Rui), and the highly coveted Best Anime Of The Year.