Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 Reveals Full List Of Nominees

Crunchyroll revealed the nominees for its 10th Anime Awards across 32 categories on April 02, 2026. The titles were nominated based on the preliminary evaluations of an independent global panel of industry judges, who determined the six finalists for each group during an initial voting round.

Dandadan Season 2 led the list with a commanding 17 nominations. This includes a dual nomination in the Main Character category for protagonists Momo and Okarun, alongside two entries in the Best Supporting Character category.

Gachiakuta and The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 are tied for the second-highest nominations, securing 11 apiece, whereas My Hero Academia‘s final season also had a strong presence with 10 nominations.

The short anime Takopi’s Original Sin, which earned rave reviews for its storyline and darker themes, was also nominated in multiple categories, including Anime of the Year, Best New Series, Best Animation and Best Character Designs.

Meanwhile, Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-, which was widely expected to sweep the awards once again, only gathered eight nods across all the categories.

Following the announcement of nominees, fans can now vote for their favorite titles till April 14, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PT. The winners will be declared at the official awards ceremony, which is scheduled to broadcast live from Tokyo, Japan, on May 23, 2026.

The complete list of categories and nominees are given below:

Anime of the Year

• The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
• Dandadan Season 2
• Gachiakuta
• My Hero Academia Final Season
• The Summer Hikaru Died
• Takopi’s Original Sin

Film of the Year

• 100 Meters
• Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
• Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II — The Ashes of Rage
• The Rose of Versailles
• Scarlet

Best Continuing Series

• Dandadan Season 2
• Kaiju No. 8 Season 2
• My Hero Academia Final Season
• One Piece
• Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-
• Spy x Family Season 3

Best New Series

• Clevatess
• The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity
• Gachiakuta
• Sakamoto Days
• The Summer Hikaru Died
• Takopi’s Original Sin

Best Original Anime

• Apocalypse Hotel
• Digimon Beatbreak
• Lazarus
• Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
• Moonrise
• Zenshu

Best Animation

• Dandadan Season 2
• Gachiakuta
• My Hero Academia Final Season
• One Piece
• Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-
• Takopi’s Original Sin

Best Character Design

• The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
• Dandadan Season 2
• Gachiakuta
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2
• One Piece
• Takopi’s Original Sin

Best Director

• Akinori Fudesaka, Norihiro Naganuma (The Apothecary Diaries Season 2)
• Fuga Yamashiro and Abel Góngora (Dandadan Season 2)
• Fumihiko Suganuma (Gachiakuta)
• Kenji Nagasaki, Naomi Nakayama (My Hero Academia Final Season)
• Ryohei Takeshita (The Summer Hikaru Died)
• Shinya Iino (Takopi’s Original Sin)

Best Background Art

• The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
• City the Animation
• Dandadan Season 2
• Gachiakuta
• Kowloon Generic Romance
• The Summer Hikaru Died

Best Romance Anime

• Blue Box
• Dandadan Season 2
• The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity
• Honey Lemon Soda
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2
• Ranma1/2 Season2

Best Comedy Anime

• City the Animation
• Dandadan Season 2
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2
• Ranma1/2 Season2
• Spy x Family Season 3
• Witch Watch

Best Action Anime

• Dandadan Season 2
• Gachiakuta
• Kaiju No. 8 Season 2
• My Hero Academia Final Season
• One Piece
• Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-

Best Isekai Anime

• Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill Season 2
• Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation — Season 1 “Episode of Heartslabyul”
• From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated!
• Konosuba -God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 3 -Bonus Stage-
• Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Season 3
• Zenshu

Best Drama Anime

• Anne Shirley
• The Apothecary Diaries Season 2
• Blue Box
• Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
• The Summer Hikaru Died
• Takopi’s Original Sin

Best Slice of Life Anime

• Anne Shirley
• Blue Box
• City the Animation
• The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2
• Spy x Family Season 3

Best Anime Main Character

• Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia Final Season)
• Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries Season 2)
• Momo (Dandadan Season 2)
• Okarun (Dandadan Season 2)
• Rudo (Gachiakuta)
• Sung Jinwoo (Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-)

Best Anime Supporting Character

• Enjin (Gachiakuta)
• Jin Enjoji (Jiji) (Dandadan Season 2)
• Jinshi (The Apothecary Diaries Season 2)
• Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia Final Season)
• Loulan/Shisui (The Apothecary Diaries Season 2)
• Turbo Granny (Dandadan Season 2)

Best Anime “Must Protect At All Costs” Character

• Anya Forger (Spy x Family Season 3)
• Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia Final Season)
• Kaoruko Waguri (The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity)
• Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries Season 2)
• Suika (Dr. Stone Science Future)
• Takopi (Takopi’s Original Sin)

Best Anime Song

• “In Bloom” by Lilas Ikuta (The Apothecary Diaries Season 2)
• “IRIS OUT” by Kenshi Yonezu (Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc)
• “JANE DOE” by Kenshi Yonezu and Hikaru Utada (Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc)
• “On The Way” by AiNA THE END (Dandadan Season 2)
• “ReawakeR (feat. Felix of Stray Kids)” by LiSA (Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-)
• “Watch Me!” by YOASOBI (Witch Watch)

Best Anime Score

• The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 (Satoru Kosaki, Kevin Penkin, Alisa Okehazama)
• Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (kensuke ushio)
• Dandadan Season 2 (kensuke ushio)
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle (Yuki Kajiura, Go Shiina)
• Gachiakuta (Taku Iwasaki)
• Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- (Hiroyuki Sawano)

Best Anime Opening Sequence

• “HUGs” by Paledusk (Gachiakuta)
• “Mirage” by Creepy Nuts (Call of the Night Season 2)
• “On The Way” by AiNA THE END (Dandadan Season 2)
• “ReawakeR (feat. Felix of Stray Kids)” by LiSA (Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-)
• “THE REVO” by PORNOGRAFFITTI (My Hero Academia Final Season)
• “Watch Me!” by YOASOBI (Witch Watch)

Best Anime Ending Sequence

• “Actor” by Lilas Ikuta (Spy x Family Season 3)
• “Beautiful Colors” by OneRepublic (Kaiju No. 8 Season 2)
• “Doukashiteru” by WurtS (Dandadan Season 2)
• “I” by BUMP OF CHICKEN (My Hero Academia Final Season)
• “Kawaii Kaiwai” by PiKi (My Dress-Up Darling Season 2)
• “UN-APEX” by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure (Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-)

Note: Crunchyroll also has several regional voting categories for Best Anime Voice Artist Performance, encompassing Japanese, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Latin Spanish, and Hindi.

The Crunchyroll Anime Awards began in January 2017 in the United States before relocating its annual ceremony to the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo, Japan, in 2023. The event utilizes a hybrid voting system, combining input from an international panel of industry judges with public fan votes.

Source: Crunchyroll