On Saturday, Crunchyroll hosted their 10th annual Anime Awards in Tokyo to recognise the best shows and films from 2025.
Long-running series ‘My Hero Academia’ took the ceremony’s most prized award, while newcomer ‘Gachiakuta’ stood out amidst a ‘Demon Slayer’ sweep.
A hero’s send-off: A major win for ‘My Hero Academia’
After its eighth and final season released last year, ‘My Hero Academia’ was the recipient of the Anime of the Year award.
The anime, which first premiered in 2016, has amassed a devout fanbase across its many years of running, and the finale was met with resounding satisfaction.
During a brief but emotional acceptance speech, director Kenji Nagasaki reflected on the 10 year journey and expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the animation studio, the production team, the fans, and the source material.
The finale season also won the award for Best Supporting Character, Best Ending Sequence and Best Voice Artist Performance in French.
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A surprise showout by newcomer ‘Gachiakuta’
One of the biggest winners of the night was the newly debuting ‘Gachiakuta’.
On top of winning Best New Series, it won Best Background Art and Best Character Design, rounding up three major titles under the anime’s belt.
Upon winning Best New Series, director Fumihiko Suganuma proclaimed how supported he felt during the production process, and thanked the staff for putting their all into it with him.
With much more to learn, he said he looked forward to the long road ahead for ‘Gachiakuta’, signing off with a request for fans to keep supporting the show.
Major sweeps from ‘Demon Slayer’ and ‘Apothecary Diaries’
‘Demon Slayer’ and ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ were the evening’s most successful recipients.
‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle’ won the most awards at seven, including Film of the Year, Best Anime Score and Best English Voice Artist.
These major prizes were not the film’s only notable wins, as it also became one of the highest grossing films of 2025 internationally.
‘The Apothecary Diaries (Season 2)’ claimed an impressive array of honours, winning five awards including Best Drama, Best Director, Best Main Character, and Best Japanese Voice Artist.
Both animes’ remaining awards contained recognitions in voice acting across various languages.
Other notable wins
Both ‘Solo Levelling’ and ‘Dan Da Dan’ took home two awards for their second seasons, including Best Animation for ‘Solo Levelling’ and Best Comedy for ‘Dan Da Dan’.
The 1000-episode ‘One Piece’ claimed Best Continuing Anime for the third time across the six times this category has been featured at the awards ceremony.
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Hyacinth Estrada 
Jacinth Banite