Alright everyone... I know many of us stayed up late to witness the results of Crunchyroll's 2025 Anime Awards! And you know the Girltaku Groupchat had some THOUGHTS. So, without further ado, here are our brief reactions to some of the main winners!
ANIME OF THE YEAR: SOLO LEVELING
(Nominees: DAN DA DAN, Delicious in Dungeon, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Kaiju No. 8, Solo Leveling, The Apothecary Diaries)
Pika: Crunchyroll definitely put in WORK making Solo Leveling as big as it is. This does not surprise me. I'll be rooting for Dan Da Dan next year.
Lo: Not surprised that Solo Leveling won, especially with its popularity as a new age shonen. I was rooting for Apothecary Diaries, though!
Carrington: It was either going to be Apothecary Diaries or Solo Leveling, so I'm content!
Maya: *Long deep negro spiritual sigh.* Cut the cameras.
FILM OF THE YEAR: LOOK BACK
(Nominees: HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle, Look Back, Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain, My Hero Academia: You’re Next, SPY x FAMILY CODE: White, The Colors Within)
Pika: Look Back DESERVED - but against Haikyuu felt like pitting two bad bitches against each other 😭
Carrington: As nostalgic as Haikyuu was, Look Back was beautiful and deserved it. Karasuno forever though!
Maya: Have I seen Look Back yet? Not once. Do those TikTok edits absolutely destroy me? Every time. Can’t wait to cry over it in its entirety later.
GLOBAL IMPACT AWARD: ATTACK ON TITAN
Pika: Attack on Titan may not be in my personal top 5. Objectively I can say this is absolutely deserved. Isayama deserves WAY more flowers than the fandom has given him.
Lo: AOT deserved this award. It played a huge role in the surge of more people getting into anime and is one of the best series in anime and manga form. Congratulations!
Carrington: I haven't even seen AOT, but it's impacted my life!
Maya: Easily one of the biggest influences on the anime wave in mainstream media; I can’t tell you how many videos I’ve seen of people admitting they came to the show from the Levi edits on TikTok LMAO.
BEST CONTINUING SERIES: DEMON SLAYER
(Nominees: BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc, My Hero Academia Season 7, ONE PIECE, OSHI NO KO Season 2, SPY x FAMILY Season 2)
Pika: I’ll give Demon Slayer its flowers, but Bleach TYBW is the comeback of the decade in terms of cultural impact.
Lo: BLEACH WAS ROBBED! I’m kidding (not really) but I’m also very biased as a huge Bleach girlie. Still gotta give credit where credit is due, congrats to Demon Slayer !
Carrington: Watch One Piece.
Maya: Always loved the show, but Demon Slayer has to take a seat when Bleach is in the room - especially when comparing these two arcs.
BEST NEW ANIME: SOLO LEVELING
(Nominees: DAN DA DAN, Delicious in Dungeon, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Kaiju No. 8, Solo Leveling, The Apothecary Diaries)
Pika: The Apothecary Diaries was ROBBED. Am I just living my "what Yona of the Dawn could've been" dream? Maybe. I've also would've accepted Dan Da Dan.
Lo: I definitely feel this award should’ve gone to one of the other nominees in this category. I was personally rooting for Delicious in Dungeon or Dan Da Dan!
Carrington: Delicious in Dungeon or Kaiju no 8 should have won this! Forgotten too soon!!!
Maya: Feeling like that one manga panel of Gol D. Roger that just reads: he laughed.
BEST ANIMATION: DEMON SLAYER
(Nominees: DAN DA DAN, Delicious in Dungeon, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Kaiju No. 8, Solo Leveling)
Lo: Demon Slayer easily has some of the most ICONIC animated scenes in the industry { still thinking about Zenitsu dropping down into the infinity castle}. I think we can all agree this was well deserved.
Carrington: I may not like Demon Slayer, but damn is the animation pretty. Lets put the budget towards other shows….
Maya: I think it should’ve gone to DanDaDan for how dynamically the characters get animated. Their style just packs more punch to me. Still happy for the Demon Slayer animators; they always work hard and I can’t wait to see how they finish out the series!
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN: DAN DA DAN
(Nominees: DAN DA DAN, Delicious in Dungeon, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Kaiju No. 8, The Apothecary Diaries)
Pika: 10/10 no notes– generational design. TURBO GRANNY fans rise!!!
Lo: Two words : Okarun’s Transformation. Nuff said.
Carrington: I actually really liked the Delicious in Dungeon character designs, but they aren't super flashy I suppose.
Maya: Falin is a chicken dragon, Okarun is a professional contortionist, and Kafka’s exoskeleton has LED lights. This year was full of silly little freaks, but DanDaDan knows how to keep it weird and funky. Congrats to them!
ANY OTHER GENERAL THOUGHTS?
Pika: As much the idea of "gendered" award categories sounds silly, I can't help scream "REF, DO SOMETHING!!!" when another phenomenal shoujo or female-lead anime get's snubbed for a battle shonen. In the future I'd love to see more broken down categories so that other deserving titles can get some shine. Objectively, I could see multiple nominees deserving of each award. But there's no denying the disproportionate amount of attention certain demographics receive. Which in turn affect the outcome of these awards. I know everyone's going to have their passionate opinions, but I hope the Anime Awards evolve into something that represents more diversity in the industry!
Lo: I would’ve loved to see more wins for Apothecary Diaries and Frieren. Yes, Solo Leveling provides exciting fight scenes with an MC whom you can’t help but root for. How can you not love characters like Igris and Iron? However, I believe the depth that these two stories illustrate their plots while helping you build an emotional connection to their MCs and side characters is something that should be appreciated more. Lastly, Bleach should've won Best Score award.Yhwach music alone gave me chills.
Carrington: I loved Solo Leveling, Apothecary Diaries and Dungeon Meshi! When it comes to award season, I feel like the heavy action shows like SL get the big awards, not entirely because it's good, but because people won't give other shows a chance! And can we PLEASE give other shows the Demon Slayer budget, I'm tired of seeing them win. (I'll never forget The Promised Neverland losing to them)
Maya: All I’m saying is I saw a million cosplays of Frieren, DinD, and Kaiju No. 8 characters both in person at cons and online throughout last year. They were honestly inescapable. On the other hand, I’ve seen maybe ten SL cosplays since it dropped. Somebody is LYING 😂.
Jokes aside, I loved Solo Leveling and was glad to see so many of my new faves in the nominations. Personally, I think this was a big year for likeable female protagonists and I hope we get to see them receive their flowers in the near future. I’d love to see more unconventional series nominated for Anime of the Year (Vinland Saga I am so sorry baby). Lastly, Anya winning the “must protect” category three years straight solidifies her as the cutie patootie President forever and always.
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