My Hero Academia’s final season claimed Anime of the Year at the 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards on Saturday in Tokyo, as the record-breaking Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle took Film of the Year at a ceremony that drew a record 73 million fan votes from around the world.
The event was held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa, with The Weeknd — a self-described longtime anime fan — presenting the night’s top prize to My Hero Academia Final Season, whose award was accepted by director Kenji Nagasaki. The series, which ran for a decade before concluding late last year, led all titles with three wins on the night, also taking Best Supporting Character for Katsuki Bakugo and Best Ending Sequence.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, which became the highest-grossing anime film of all time and the highest-grossing Japanese film ever in North America, won Film of the Year. The film’s dominance extended deep into the voice acting categories, with performers voicing the villain Akaza winning in five international language categories — English, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, and Latin Spanish.
Beyond the big two, the night spread its recognition widely. Lazarus won Best Original Anime, One Piece took Best Continuing Series, and Gachiakuta claimed Best New Series, also winning Best Background Art and Best Character Design. The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 picked up Best Drama, Best Director, and Best Main Character for Maomao, voiced in Japanese by Aoi Yuki.
Director Tatsuya Nagamine received the Global Impact Award for a career spanning Ojamajo Doremi, PreCure, Dragon Ball Super, and One Piece. Animator Masayuki Sato, a close collaborator, accepted the award on Nagamine’s behalf.
The ceremony opened with a visual tribute to nearly a decade of Anime of the Year winners, accompanied live by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Yoko Takahashi performed a 30th anniversary tribute to Neon Genesis Evangelion, PORNOGRAFFITTI honoured My Hero Academia’s 10-year run, and Asian Kung-Fu Generation played “Haruka Kanata” from Naruto.
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The largest blocs of the record 73 million votes came from Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, and the United States — a geographical spread that reflects the increasingly global audience anime commands, and the scale of ambition behind a ceremony now in its tenth year.
Sony Group Corporation President Hiroki Totoki addressed the crowd, saying, “Anime has brought so many people together — and will continue to do so.”
