The 2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards have concluded, and anime fans were left with a mixture of emotions. After criticism in the past of one series sweeping all the categories, this year was much more balanced. Of course, there were a few winners and losers that stirred up talk in the anime community.
If you missed the awards show, it is an annual event presented by Crunchyroll. With 11 million votes, the shows nominated for each category are some of the best of the year. Just because there was talk of another show that should of won doesn’t discredit the winning show. Be sure to check out all the nominees as they are all worth the watch.
10 Love: Best Ending Sequence
Kicking off the list is Best Ending Sequence. The award went to Konomi Kohara’s song “Chikatto Chika Chikaa” with a dance sequence as part of the ending. This was one of the more obvious winners and rightfully so. Fans of the series created their own rendition of Chika’s dance across YouTube, Twitter, and Tik Tok. This won’t be the last time you see the series on this list, but more on that later. Kaguya-sama: Love is War follows Kaguya Shinomuta and Miyuki Shirogane, two students at Shuchiin Academy. The two are both interested in each other but don’t want to be the first to admit it. Each episode is a back and forth battle of the two trying to get the other to confess their love first.
9 Controversy: Best Character Design
Dororo was one of the best series during the winter 2019 season and rightfully so. The remake of the spring 1969 Dororo to Hyakkimaru series was done very well. But for a show that only has two main characters recurring through the series to win Best Character Design, perhaps Dororo wasn’t the best option.
Dororo shows us the value of human life. After Daigo Kagemitsu makes a deal with 12 demons to save the land, he sacrifices the limbs of his son Hyakkimaru. Accompanied by Dororo, Hyakkimaru searches for the demons in attempts to regain his body.
8 Love: Best Director
Attack on Titan had one of, if not its best, seasons air in 2019 with Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2. The series does a lot of things well. There are great characters, an amazing story, and heartfelt moments. The series can be described as a jack of all trades rather than one that excels in specific categories. The anime had to win something at the awards and what better for a series that does a little bit of everything than Best Director? Attack on Titan is projected to air its final season during the fall 2020 season.
7 Controversy: Best Fantasy
The Promised Neverland is a great fantasy “series,” but this is the “anime” awards. While the concept of the series is certainly fantasy, what we got in season one of the show wasn’t completely fantasy. Taking a note from The Rant Café Anime Podcast, most of The Promised Neverland took place at the orphanage of the farm. The plot followed Emma, Norman, and Ray as they tried to escape the orphanage with the other kids. This doesn’t have many fantasy elements to it, leaving the question of whether the first season of The Promised Neverland was that much of a fantasy series.
6 Love: Best Protagonist
Best Protagonist this year went to Senkuu from Dr. Stone. Senku was a great choice for this award because he represents a character archetype that isn’t seen in anime too often, the shonen protagonist who puts brain over brawn. Senku relies on his intelligence and on others for muscle. This trope for shonen protagonists isn’t seen very often and it's refreshing to see the character praised for it. Dr. Stone is set 3,700 years in the future where everyone in the world is petrified to stone. Senku manages to awaken his frozen body and wants to restart civilization, but he’s going to need some help.
5 Controversy: Best Girl
Prior to the awards show, the talk of best girl had come down to two candidates. Would it be Nezuko, the demon girl from Demon Slayer who inspired many cosplays throughout the year. Or Chika, the comic relief of Kaguya-sama: Love is War that brought many laughs to fans of the series. The answer? Neither. Raphtalia from The Rising of the Shield Hero won.
Raphtalia is a Takuni-type Demi-Human who was purchased by Naofumi where fans watched her grow up alongside him. The Rising of the Shield Hero’s cast has been recently added to Isekai Quartet for the second season of the series.
4 Love: Best Score
No surprises with this winner. The music in Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2 were both great, but nothing compares to the series where the plot revolved around two girls making music. Carole and Tuesday won Best Score and rightfully so. The music in the series is done by Mocky, a Canadian singer and music producer. Carole and Tuesday is the story of two girls who live on Mars trying to make it big in the music industry. Their songs tell their stories of hardships, personal adventures, and fun times as they climb the charts making hits.
3 Controversy: Best Antagonist
The anime community has been divided for Best Antagonist. Some feel that Askeladd from Vinland Saga should have won this category. Some feel it should have been Isabella from The Promised Neverland. Some felt that Askeladd probably shouldn’t have even been nominated since he’s more of a deuteragonist. Askeladd was one of the best-written characters of the year but since the category was for Antagonist, it went to Isabella.
2 Love: Best Couple
There were many great anime couples throughout the year but outshining them all was Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane. The two together showed us what happens when two tsunderes fall in love with each other.
The competition between them to try and get the other to admit their love first is priceless. The anime had a complex love angle that prepared viewers for a sequel coming in 2020. Along with Demon Slayer, Kaguya-sama: Love is War took home the most awards with three.
1 Controversy: Anime of the Year
Rounding out the list is the biggest award of the night, Anime of the Year. Every year this category is criticized for going to the most mainstream popular anime series and this trend continued. Demon Slayer won best anime of 2019 and the show makes a good argument for it. The anime is a shonen series done right. However, it was one of the most accessible shows being on Crunchyroll and Funimation. Wit Studio’s Vinland Saga was nominated for this category as well, but with Vinland Saga being an Amazon Prime Video exclusive, it’s unlikely it got the same viewership Demon Slayer had.