MUMBAI: The Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 closed on a thunderous note in Tokyo, as Solo Leveling bagged Anime of the Year amid a record-breaking 51 million votes from fans across the globe. Held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa, the event marked the ninth edition of anime’s biggest global celebration, honouring the studios, creators, and performers driving the genre's cultural dominance.
Voice actress Sally Amaki and TV personality Jon Kabira returned to host the show for the third consecutive year, setting the tone for an evening filled with fanfare and fervour. Global icons like Kacey Musgraves, Finn Wolfhard, J Balvin, Chloe Kim, and Rina Sawayama presented awards across 30+ categories, joined by anime royalty including Kanata Hongo, Dean Fujioka, and Mayu Matsuoka.
Attack on Titan was conferred the first-ever Global Impact Award, recognising the anime’s decade-long influence on storytelling and fandom. Director Yuichiro Hayashi of MAPPA accepted the honour on behalf of the entire creative team.
Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said, “Fans form deep emotional connections to anime. These are not just series, films or songs, but rather works of art that help define the identity of anime fans. With an incredible 51 million votes this year, the 2025 Anime Awards are celebrating the creators in Japan who have captured the hearts of fans and are powering anime’s prominence in global pop culture”.
Live performances electrified the show. Creepy Nuts delivered the viral opening theme ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ from Mashle: Magic and Muscles and ‘Otonoke' from Dan Da Dan. Rock icons Flow performed ‘Days’ for Eureka Seven’s 20 anniversary. Lisa lit up the stage with fan favourites from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Winners included:
● Anime of the Year: Solo Leveling
● Film of the Year: Look Back
● Best Continuing Series: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc
● Best Director: Keiichiro Saito (Frieren: Beyond Journey's End)
● Best Main Character: Sung Jinwoo (Solo Leveling)
● Best Japanese Voice Artist: Aoi Yuki (Maomao – The Apothecary Diaries)
● Best Hindi Voice Artist: Lohit Sharma (Satoru Gojo – Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2)
Notably, countries like Canada and Chile broke into the top 10 voting nations for the first time, alongside India, Brazil, and the U.S. Crunchyroll will make the full show available as video-on-demand across Youtube, Twitch, Sony Pictures Core, and Sony Group Corp’s global platforms.
Sony Music Solutions Inc. and Dempsey Productions co-produced the show.