Anime Awards Season 2025 Tracker: Dates, Nominees, Winners

Why does awards season feel like a second anime calendar? 2025 is already packed, and fans want a clear way to track who is in the running, when big nights land, and which shows are cleaning up.

The Crunchyroll Anime Awards kicked things off, with nominees revealed on 3 April and the ceremony on 25 May in Tokyo. It covered 32 categories for titles released between September 2023 and December 2024, and the results set the tone. Solo Leveling led the night with nine wins, including Anime of the Year, which is huge for a manhwa adaptation.

There was plenty of depth beyond that. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End picked up four wins, including Best Director and Best Anime Song for The Brave by YOASOBI. Studio Durian’s Look Back took Film of the Year. Dandadan topped the nominations with 22, even if it did not convert as many on the night. Other favourites like Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Spy × Family, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Kaiju No. 8, and The Apothecary Diaries also featured across key categories.

Next up, all eyes turn to the Tokyo Anime Award Festival. Dates are still to come, but it reliably highlights industry choices and festival picks, which rounds out the season view. This tracker pulls the key dates, nominees, and winners into one place, so you can follow the story without getting lost.

Expect quick updates, bite-size summaries, and links to full lists. If you want to compare categories or see who is building momentum, you are in the right spot.

Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025: Key Dates and Standout Winners

The Crunchyroll Anime Awards capped a stacked year on 25 May 2025 in Tokyo, celebrating series that aired from late 2023 through 2024. It spanned 32 categories across series, films, talent, music, and craft, which gave room for both blockbuster hits and sharp niche work. For a full rundown of the show and timing, see the official hub at The Anime Awards and the complete results via Crunchyroll’s recap, Anime Awards 2025 Winners.

Here are the headline takeaways that shaped the night.

• Solo Leveling made history as the first manhwa adaptation to win Anime of the Year, and it also took Best New Series. Its nine wins marked a clear shift toward kinetic action and slick production values.
• Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End collected Best Director and Best Drama, proving slow-burn character work still hits hard.
• Look Back by Studio Durian won Film of the Year, a major nod to intimate storytelling paired with bold cinematography.
• Demon Slayer took Best Continuing Series, showing long-running franchises still command craft and audience love.
• Mashle won Best Comedy, while Blue Box scored Best Romance, underlining the strength of feel-good picks alongside heavy hitters.
• Dandadan led nominations with 22, even if it did not convert as often as expected.

Quick glance at the major winners:

 

Why this matters for 2025: action-forward series surged, but character-first dramas and warm slice-of-life romances still stood tall. The 32-category spread let fans celebrate everything from direction and animation to voice acting and music, which paints a fuller picture of what made the year great.

Top Categories and What They Mean for Fans

A few categories map the year’s pulse. Anime of the Year going to an action juggernaut signals a strong appetite for pace, spectacle, and tight arcs. If you skipped Solo Leveling week to week, a binge watch will land its momentum.

Best Original Anime highlights creator-led ideas and fresh IP. Shows like Ninja Kamui prove original concepts can pull you in with style, sharp direction, and a clear voice. Originals reward a rewatch, since visual cues and foreshadowing pop on a second pass.

Best Romance reminds us 2025 was not all swords and sorcery. Blue Box keeps hearts racing with grounded stakes and clean sports drama. If you want something heartfelt but not saccharine, it is a smart starting point. Together, these categories show a year where high-octane action, inventive originals, and tender romances all won attention.

Notable Snubs and Surprises in Nominations

Dandadan arrived with 22 nominations, which set sky-high expectations. It walked away with fewer wins than the buzz suggested, sparking chat about category crowding and vote splits. That gap between hype and trophies keeps debates lively, and it shows how deep the field was.

On the flip side, Frieren converting across major craft and genre categories despite fierce competition shows steady love for patient storytelling. It did not need loud twists to win voters. Comedy and romance also felt stronger than usual, with Blue Box and Mashle reminding everyone that comfort viewing still has range. Some fans wished for more sci‑fi and horror in top slots, hinting at genres that could rise next season. For context on the ceremony scale and category breadth, see the overview on 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

Upcoming Anime Awards: Tokyo Anime Award Festival and Annie Awards Tracker

Awards season rolls on, and two big fixtures still have news to drop. Expect rolling updates through summer and into early 2026, with categories that spotlight animation craft as much as hype. Here is what to watch and how to stay ahead of the announcements.

What to Expect from Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2025

TAAF puts industry judgement front and centre. It celebrates Japanese anime excellence across TV, film, shorts, and craft, with juried decisions that often mirror what studios respect most. Recent patterns show two steady signals: strong direction and visual clarity tend to convert, and character-first stories travel well with the jury. Think of how contemplative fantasies and intimate films often rise to the top.

While the next festival’s dates are yet to be locked in as of October 2025, timelines usually firm up between March and April, with the festival landing in early 2026 and winners following soon after. Expect categories like best animation, story or script, director, and music to anchor the conversation again. Titles that already impressed fans and press in 2025, like high-polish action hits and sharp originals, will be in the mix.

For official deadlines, categories, and news drops, keep an eye on the TAAF site’s updates page at TOKYO ANIME AWARD FESTIVAL. For day-to-day buzz and shortlist chatter, Crunchyroll News tends to pick up early signals across fan circles and industry posts.

Annie Awards Anime Highlights and Predictions

The Annies cover the full animation field, which includes anime entries alongside Western features, series, and shorts. Recent years have seen Studio Ghibli and other Japanese studios win or place across directing, music, and editorial, not just feature categories. Expect a broad lens on craft, and a slate that mixes auteur films, broadcast series, and streaming breakouts.

Key difference from Crunchyroll’s awards: the Annies are industry-led and more Western-facing, so voting bodies, campaign cycles, and guild attention matter. As of October 2025, the next ceremony is tracking for early 2026, covering works released across 2025. Likely contenders mirror the year’s momentum, including standout action series with slick production values, prestige features with strong festival runs, and thoughtful dramas that deliver on direction and score.

Bookmark the official hub for updates on eligibility, timelines, and category lists at Annie Awards. If you follow announcements, trailers, and guild screenings, you will spot the front-runners early.

How Awards Shape the Future of Anime in 2025 and Beyond

Awards do more than crown favourites. They push shows to the front of watchlists, spark new deals, and guide studios toward what fans and voters want next. 2025 made that clear, with high-profile wins feeding discovery, greenlights, and creative risks that will echo into 2026.

Streaming Surges and Global Discovery

Winners and heavily nominated titles see instant bumps in streams and searches. Platforms surface award badges, trailers get new traction, and casual viewers try the show everyone is talking about. Coverage and recaps, like the post-ceremony roundups on industry sites such as Animation Magazine’s winners report, also push newcomers toward the hits. This halo effect benefits back-catalog seasons too, not just the latest arc.

From Trophies to Greenlights

Awards shape what gets made next. Producers chase proven tones, formats, and release strategies that win votes. Expect:

• More manhwa adaptations: a clear signal after big wins for a Korean-origin series, which broadens the pipeline beyond manga.
• High-polish action with clean arcs: binge-friendly pacing remains a safe bet for streamers.
• Character-first dramas and intimate films: juries reward strong direction and score, keeping prestige lanes healthy.

Studios also double down on creators who converted nominations into wins. That means bigger budgets, better slots, and faster renewals.

Fan Voting Is Market Research in Plain Sight

Fan votes are loud data points. The 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards drew a record 51 million votes, according to Sony’s recap. That volume signals demand by region, genre, and format. Committees notice, and marketing teams plan around it. When fans rally a title into the spotlight, it changes funding conversations.

Diversity, New Voices, and Risk

Award nights in 2025 showed that stylistic range sells. Darker, moodier work sat alongside warm romance and sharp comedy, a mix that critics and fans both backed. Commentators have pointed to shifting tones and expectations, reflecting broader tastes across global audiences, as seen in analysis like Slashfilm’s awards-season essay.

How You Can Shape What Comes Next

Want your favourites to thrive?

• Vote in public categories and share official ballots.
• Stream the nominated seasons legally to boost the signal.
• Join community chats, forums, and Q&As.
• Support original soundtracks and licensed merch to show demand.
• Track the season here, then turn momentum into watch parties and rewatch threads.

Use this tracker to follow the swings, then help push the next wave over the line.

Conclusion

Awards season 2025 told a clear story. Solo Leveling set the pace with a sweep at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, while Frieren showed the staying power of careful direction and strong craft. Look Back proved intimate films can win big, and Demon Slayer kept the flag flying for long-running hits. Dandadan’s nomination haul kept debate healthy, which is half the fun of a season like this.

Use this tracker to keep your watchlist sharp. Queue the winners and heavy nominees on your streaming platform of choice, then see what resonates with you. If you missed the buzz, start with Solo Leveling for punchy action, Frieren for character focus, and Look Back for a tight, moving feature.

We will keep this page fresh as Tokyo Anime Award Festival dates and line-ups land, then roll into the Annie Awards cycle. Check back for updates, shortlists, and fast summaries so you can stay ahead of each reveal.

Have thoughts on the results, or a pick you think the juries should not miss next round? Drop a comment and compare notes with other fans. Your views help shape what gets watched and talked about next.

Subscribe for more trackers, weekly updates, and quick reads on the season’s movers. Anime’s reach keeps growing across regions and platforms, and 2025 proved how wide that audience now is. Here’s to a bigger, bolder year ahead.