5 biggest snubs from the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 (& 5 victories that were well-deserved)

With the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 taking place on May 25, 2025, at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa- Tokyo, Japan, several winners were declared, which overjoyed the fandom. From the Anime of the Year to Best Anime Song, there were several categories presented, while several new categories were added since the award ceremony of 2024.

Although the award ceremony received praise from the community as one of the most anticipated occasions of 2025, some were not quite satisfied with the event's outcomes, leaving room for discussion. Here are some of the biggest snubs of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025, while others who were worthy of their win.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinions.

One Piece, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, and 3 other biggest snubs of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025

1) One Piece (not winning the Best Continuing Anime Series award)

One Piece losing the Best Continuing Anime Award was one of the biggest snubs (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece fans became upset with the results for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025's Best Continuing Anime Series award being given to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training arc. The fans further demonstrated their frustrations over at social media websites like X:

"No shot One Piece anime just lost "Best Continuing Series" award to Demon slayer", said one fan

While Demon Slayer is undoubtedly one of the most popular and best series, only getting better every season, the Hashira Training arc is probably the season with the least action and visuals, which the series is famously known for. Hence, the fans' frustration over One Piece not winning the award makes complete sense.

2) Kaiju No. 8 (not winning the Anime of the Year award)

Kaiju No. 8 not winning the Best Anime of the Year is also a letdown from the event (Image via Production I.G)

One of the biggest titles from 2024, Kaiju No. 8, was nominated for the Best Anime of the Year award on the grand stage of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025. While the fans were most certain that the series would win, Solo Leveling's name was announced as the winner for the category, leading the fans to dismay:

"Kaiju No. 8 not winning any significant award feels like robbery", expressed one fan.

Furthermore, to rub salt in the wounds, Kaiju No. 8 did not win any significant awards other than the one, best Anime Voice Artist in French award, won by Adrien Antoine as Kafka Hibino.

3) Megumi Ishitani (not winning the Best Director award)

Megumi Ishitani not winning the Best Director award was a snub in the event (Image via Toei Animation)

When the nominations were in for the Best Director on the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 stage, the fans were overjoyed to see the name of Megumi Ishitani nominated for her work in One Piece Fan Letter, thinking she would win most certainly. However, the award was given to Keiichiro Saito for Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, which disappointed the fans:

"Basically they did it without considering One Piece. No competition if they did.", expressed a dissapointed fan.

4) Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (not winning the Best Main Character award)

Frieren not winning the Best Main Character was a letdown (Image via Madhouse)

Frieren from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End was one of the fan favorite nominations for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 for the Best Main Character award. However, with Sung Jinwoo taking the award for Solo Leveling, it let down the fandom immensely, which can be well reflected in their opinions:

"Frieren losing best main character and music to a generic fantasy shonen is just so abysmally stupid.", exclaimed one fan.

5) Bling-Bang-Bang-Born (Not winning Best Anime Song)

With the nominations being declared for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025's Best Anime Song, the fans were extremely delighted when they heard the name of "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts for the anime Mashle: Magic & Muscles. However, their happiness was soon turned to disappointment as "Otonoke" took the award from the anime Dandadan:

"Bling bang bang born got robbed", said one fan.

However, the silver lining was that it was still Creepy Nuts who won the awards, and despite "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" winning several awards throughout other events, Dandadan's "Otonoke" is also one of the popular songs that won.

Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and 3 other winners who deserved their victories

1) Attack on Titan (winning the Global Impact Award)

Attack on Titan winning the Global Impact award was well deserved (Image via Mappa)

During the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025, the event announced that Attack on Titan won the Global Impact Award. While this particular award was already announced by Crunchyroll before the event even took place on May 25, the fandom was extremely overjoyed with the series' well-deserved win:

"Rightfully deserved. A shonen that rises above all the other mediocrity these twitter accounts be tryna hype up.", said one fan.

From the storyline to the quality of the anime adaptation, the series truly deserved the award for its excellent work, along with other people who worked tirelessly on the project from behind the scenes to make the masterpiece.

2) Look Back (winning the Best Film award)

Look Back winning the Best Anime Film award was well deserved (Image via Studio DURIAN)

With the nominations for the Best Anime Films announced on the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025's stage, the fans anticipated several options, with many well-deserving options on the list like My Hero Academia: You're Next and Spy x Family Code: White. However, as the film Look Back by Studio DURIAN won the award, the fans were equally happy with the results:

"Yea this one’s a no brainer forget best anime film, this was one of the best films of the year period. Incredible", said one fan.

A beautiful film about two elementary school girls bonding over their love of drawing manga and exploring several emotions of life, the film truly deserved the awards.

3) Dandadan (winning the Best Character Design award)

Dandadan winning the Best Character Design is well deserved by the series (Image via Science SARU)

One of the series that scored a well-deserved win as Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025's Best Character Design among either behemoth series like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaibe Hashira Training arc and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End was Dandadan.

The fans also came into unison, expressing their agreement with the outcome of the results:

"no eye dazzling, fluid movement, deserved!!", expressed one fan.

4) Demon Slayer (winning the Best Animation award)

Among other massive nominees like Solo Leveling and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Demon Slayer swept the floor, winning the Best Animation award at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 event. Given the series is known for its immaculate animation and choreography, it was expected by the fans of the results coming as they were:

"Demon Slayer never misses when it comes to animation", claimed a fan.

Although several other series were prime candidates for the win, Demon Slayer taking home the award was a statement made by Ufotable and was well deserved, as the quality of animation only gets better with every season.

5) Re: ZERO (winning the Best Isekai Anime award)

Re: Zero rightfully deserved the best Isekai Anime award (Image via White Fox)

On May 25, 2025, during the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025, the nominees for the Best Isekai Anime were announced, with popular titles on the list like Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3. However, Re: ZERO- Starting Life in Another World- season 3 took home the win as several fans had anticipated:

"Well deserved! It really is the greatest Isekai of all time! Re:Zero is a great series! Definitely recommend to those that haven’t seen it!", expressed one of the fans.

The classic Isekai anime series rightfully deserved the award, with a plethora of unique characters and an engaging storyline that has held the popularity of the series ever since its premiere back in 2016.

Final thoughts

While the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 were considered somewhat controversial, with some of the awards given out during the event, it also rightfully awarded some well-deserving series. Nevertheless, it is one of the most significant events in the industry for which the fans now await in anticipation for the year 2026.

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About the author

Ribhu Ghosh is an Anime Journalist at Sportskeeda. With a degree in Journalism under the Calcutta University, his deep-rooted passion for anime and manga led him to pursue a career in writing about the same.

Along with his 6 years of experience as an illustrator and digital artist for various overseas anime studios and companies, he also aspires to write storylines. Ribhu's creative journey has been profoundly influenced by renowned mangakas such as Sui Ishida, Masashi Kishimoto, Kohei Horikoshi, and Koyoharu Gotouge.

Ribhu's enthusiasm for storytelling and illustration is evident in his meticulous approach to reporting. He values accuracy and relevance and always prioritizes thorough research.

If given a chance, he would return to 2014 and be a part of the Tokyo Ghoul series, as he admires its action scenes, story, plot twists, art, and adaptation from the manga.

When he's not writing, Ribhu enjoys illustrating, playing chess, and engaging in outdoor activities like badminton. His diverse interests extend to music, cooking, reading, and gaming, all of which complement his passion for entertainment.

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Edited by Bharath S