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Crunchyroll has unveiled news that global icon and long-time anime fan The Weeknd will appear at the landmark tenth iteration of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, taking place on Saturday, May 23, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan.
The GRAMMY-winning artist known for weaving anime influences into his work will present the evening’s most prestigious honour: Anime of the Year.
Fans around the world can cast their votes daily for their favourite anime, helping decide winners across 32 categories, including the Anime of the Year recipient to be presented by The Weeknd. Voting is now open via the Anime Awards Official Website, Crunchyroll, and MyAnimeList, and runs through April 15 at 11:59 PM PT.
The Weeknd joins a growing lineup of celebrity anime-fan presenters shaped by anime’s influence on culture and creativity worldwide.
The Weeknd shared the following about how anime has inspired his art and career:
“When I was first introduced to anime, I was a child. Sailor Moon was one of my first crushes, Goku my first imaginary sparring partner, and “One More Time” by Daft Punk was a song and music video I couldn’t get out of my head.
But it wasn’t until my teenage years that one specific anime changed me forever and became part of the fabric of my early career: Samurai Champloo by Shinichiro Watanabe. It was the first time I experienced two of my favourite media anime and hip hop blending so seamlessly that it completely reshaped the way I watched film and listened to music.
The fusion of a samurai story told with auteur precision, paired with the sounds of Nujabes, Fat Jon, and Force of Nature, was nothing short of transformative.
That influence stayed with me all the way through the creation of House of Balloons, where I wrote “The Morning,” “Glass Table Girls,” and “Loft Music” over Nujabes’ instrumentals. Without Watanabe and Nujabes, House of Balloons simply wouldn’t exist.
Samurai Champloo opened my eyes to a more mature world of anime and helped shape my visual DNA. The works of Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, and Katsuhiro Otomo became foundational to The Weeknd’s look and feel.
So it’s safe to say I wouldn’t be here without anime. It’s an honour to celebrate the artists behind it and a medium that continues to inspire the world.”
The Crunchyroll Anime Awards is the leading yearly awards program honouring the creators, musicians, and performers powering the global love of anime. Sony Music Solutions Inc., part of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and Dempsey Productions will support Crunchyroll in executing the event. The event will be livestreamed for global audiences.
More information can be found on the Crunchyroll Anime Awards Official Website and across X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
The Weeknd is a multi-platinum, 7x Diamond-certified artist who has reshaped R&B and pop, becoming one of the most listened-to artists of the 21st century. He has over 115 million monthly listeners and has the most songs, surpassing a billion streams on Spotify. His After Hours Til Dawn Tour became the highest-grossing tour by a male solo artist in history, surpassing $1 billion.
Named the “Most Popular Artist in the World” by Guinness World Records, his album After Hours is the most-streamed R&B album ever, and “Blinding Lights” is the top Billboard Hot 100 song of all time.
Source: Press Release
