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Koyoharu Gotouge's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has achieved massive success over the past few years, both commercially and critically. Recently, the series increased its success by sweeping the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2023, winning in six categories.
Out of all the nominations, only Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and Spy x Family were able to rake in six awards each, completely dominating the award ceremony. However, the series' win in several different categories has caused controversy in the anime community. Some fans believe that there has been a certain degree of bias shown towards Demon Slayer. Meanwhile, a few others feel that many well-deserved anime series have been snubbed unjustly by Crunchyroll.
Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2023 is facing backlash for Demon Slayer's sweep at the award ceremony
Demon Slayer managed to win six awards at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2023, which took place on March 4, 2023. Koyoharu Gotouge's series had ties with Attack on Titan and Spy x Family, taking home the highest number of awards. These three anime franchises dominated the entire ceremony, winning in almost every other category.
The awards won by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc include the following:
- Best Anime Character Design - Akira Matsushima, Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
- Best Animation - Demon Slayer Entertainment District Arc
- Best Anime Director - Haruo Sotozaki, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc
- Best Action Anime - Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
- Best Fantasy Anime - Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
- Best VA Performance (Spanish) - Alejandro Orozco, Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
Some of the aforementioned awards have been well deserved and have received little to no pushback from fans. However, the rest have been criticized on Reddit and Twitter, with fans arguing that Crunchyroll rigged the award ceremony. The two categories mainly responsible for causing this sentiment are Best Anime Character Design and Best Fantasy Anime.
Fans on Twitter have argued that the Best Character Design award should have gone to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. According to them, Araki's unique artstyle of Jojo and its translation to the anime makes the series a better fit to win the Best Character Design award.
As for the Best Fantasy anime, the award going to Demon Slayer is even more controversial because the series is grounded in some reality. It is set during the Taisho Era in Japan, making it less akin to a fantasy anime.
Considering this fact, other nominations in the fantasy anime genre would have been a better pick for the award. Fans are angry because Demon Slayer won against nominees such as Made in Abyss, Overlord IV, Ranking of Kings, The Case Study of Vanitas, and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation.
In Summation
Demon Slayer is currently one of the most popular anime series, with high level animation, over-the-top action, and fast paced storytelling. Gotouge's series has broken several records at the box office and raised the bar for the entire anime industry. Thus, it is normal for award shows to present them with well-deserved accolades.
However, it is natural for anime fans to express their disappointment or displeasure when their preferred series doesn’t win during an award ceremony. The Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2023 fell into this same predicament, with fans complaining on Twitter about the nominees, winners, and those they feel have been snubbed.
This has caused Demon Slayer's win in certain categories to be criticized by fans. While fans make some valid points, the bulk of their discontent comes from their favorite series getting snubbed. Considering it is natural for people to hold opposing views and argue about said views on Twitter, Demon Slayer's recent wins at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2023 is one such phenomenon.
