‘Solo Leveling’ Solo Leveling Animation Partners
In a dazzling evening filled with glitz and anime fandom, Solo Leveling emerged as the stand-out victor at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, clinching coveted titles such as Anime of the Year, Best Action, Best New Series, along with multiple accolades for performances and music.
The prestigious gala, held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo, honored anime’s elite across 28 varied categories, with an overwhelming 51 million global votes casting the spotlight on the winners.
The Feature Film category reverberated with emotion as Look Back, a profound adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s one-shot manga, was hailed as Film of the Year.
Meanwhile, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba continued its triumphant run by securing Best Continuing Series and Best Animation honors.
The inventive series Dan Da Dan was also celebrated with several creative awards, including Best Opening Sequence, Best Anime Song, and Best Character Design.
For the third consecutive year, the ceremony was expertly helmed by voice actress Sally Amaki and entertainer Jon Kabira.
A multifaceted array of celebrity presenters graced the stage, reinforcing anime’s universal allure. Notable appearances included:
- Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves
- Stranger Things stars Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo
- Latin musician J Balvin
- Japanese actor Kanata Hongo
- Actress Mayu Matsuoka
- Singer Rina Sawayama
- Brazilian pop star Pabllo Vittar
- Model Saya Ichikawa
- Actor Dean Fujioka
- Maneskin’s Damiano David
The night’s heart-stirring highlight was the presentation of Crunchyroll’s inaugural Global Impact Award to Attack on Titan. The award recognizes monumental influence on global animation and culture. Director Yuichiro Hayashi accepted the award on behalf of Studio Mappa.
Live music electrified the room with performances by:
- Creepy Nuts performing “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
- Flow delivering a nostalgic rendition of “Days”
- LiSA with a three-song medley featuring “Gurenge”
“Fans form deep emotional connections to anime,” said Rahul Purini, President of Crunchyroll. “With 51 million votes this year, the Anime Awards are a celebration of creators who’ve captured hearts and powered anime’s global rise.”
The high-energy show was a joint effort from Crunchyroll, Sony Music Solutions, and Dempsey Productions, available via Crunchyroll’s YouTube and Twitch channels, Sony Pictures Core, and other Sony platforms.
Crunchyroll now boasts 17 million subscribers globally. Upcoming projects include:
- Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (film trilogy)
- Ghost of Tsushima (anime adaptation in partnership with Aniplex and Sony Pictures)
Select 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Award Winners:
- Anime of the Year: Solo Leveling
- Film of the Year: Look Back
- Best Original Anime: Ninja Kamui
- Best Continuing Series: Demon Slayer – Hashira Training Arc
- Best New Series: Solo Leveling
- Best Opening Sequence: “Otonoke” – Creepy Nuts (Dan Da Dan)
- Best Ending Sequence: “request” – krage (Solo Leveling)
- Best Action: Solo Leveling
- Best Comedy: Mashle – The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc
- Best Drama: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
- Best Isekai: Re:ZERO – Season 3
- Best Romance: Blue Box
- Best Slice of Life: Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!
- Best Animation: Demon Slayer – Hashira Training Arc
- Best Background Art: Frieren
- Best Character Design: Dan Da Dan
- Best Director: Keiichiro Saito (Frieren)
- Best Main Character: Sung Jinwoo (Solo Leveling)
- Best Supporting Character: Fern (Frieren)
- “Must Protect at All Costs” Character: Anya Forger (Spy × Family S2)
- Best Anime Song: “Otonoke” – Creepy Nuts (Dan Da Dan)
- Best Score: Hiroyuki Sawano – Solo Leveling
Voice Performance Awards:
- Japanese: Aoi Yuki (Maomao – Apothecary Diaries)
- English: Aleks Le (Sung Jinwoo – Solo Leveling)
- Arabic: Hiba Snobar (Anya – Spy × Family S2)
- Brazilian Portuguese: Charles Emmanuel (Sung Jinwoo)
- Spanish (Castilian): Masumi Mutsuda (Sung Jinwoo)
- French: Adrien Antoine (Kafka Hibino – Kaiju No. 8)
- German: Daniel Schlauch (Luffy – One Piece)
- Hindi: Lohit Sharma (Gojo – Jujutsu Kaisen S2)
- Italian: Ilaria Pellicone (Kyomoto – Look Back)
- Spanish (Latin): Miguel Ángel Leal (Eren – Attack on Titan Final Season)
