The annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026, which honored the best anime releases of the past year, were announced in Tokyo. The ceremony marked an anniversary: 2026 marked the tenth year the awards were presented. The winners were determined by audience votes and a jury panel, and the full list of winners was published on Crunchyroll's official website.
The main prize of the evening was "Anime of the Year" - received My Hero Academia: FinalThis is a particularly significant victory for the franchise: the project took home the Grand Prix in a year when competition in the category was at its fiercest, with several high-profile titles among the contenders.
The following high-profile projects also won in the main nominations: Gachiakuta became the best new product, "One piece" won the award for Best Sequel, while Lazarus won Best Original Anime. In the film category, the prize went to Demon Slayer: Infinite Castle - Akaza's Return.
Sequels of popular series took home most of the genre awards. Best Action Game went to Solo Leveling 2, comedy - Dandadan 2, drama - "Pharmacist Monologue 2"The isekai won. Re:ZERO - Starting Life in Another World 3, was recognized as the best romance "A fragrant flower blooms with dignity", and among everyday anime, the award went to "Spy Family 3".
A separate awards section was dedicated to music. The best opening theme was awarded to On the Way by AiNA THE END from "Dandadan 2", and the best ending theme is the song "I" from BUMP OF CHICKEN from My Hero Academia: Finale. The song was named Best Anime Track. "IRIS OUT" by Kenshi Yonezu from Chainsaw Man: Reese. The award for Best Original Score went to Yuki Kajiura и Go Shiina for the music for the film "Demon Slayer: Endless Castle - Return of Akaza".
In the technical categories, "Leveling Up Alone 2" and "Gachiakuta" were particularly notable. The former won Best Animation, while the latter took home the awards for Best Character Design and Best Backgrounds. Best Japanese Voice Actress went to Aoi Yuki for his role as Maomao in "The Pharmacist's Monologue," and the award for Best Director went to Akinori Fudesaka и Norihiro Naganuma for "The Pharmacist's Monologue 2".
There were also character nominations. Maomao from "The Pharmacist's Monologue" won Best Leading Character, while Best Supporting Character went to Bakugo from My Hero Academia, and won in the Protect at All Costs category Anna from "The Spy Family".
Interest in the awards was particularly high this year. According to Deadline, the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards fan vote garnered over 73 million votes, a record for the awards.
