Crunchyroll has revealed the Anime of the Year contenders for the Anime Awards 2025. As expected, the supernatural rom-com action anime Dan Da Dan and slow-burning slice of life Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End lead most categories in the nomination pool, while surprises like Delicious in Dungeon and Solo Leveling also seem to have a large amount of nods. Some exclusions like Jujutsu Kaisen‘s applauded Shibuya Incident arc are also a bit strange.
The nominees for Anime of the Year at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025 are Dan Da Dan, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Delicious in Dungeon, Kaiju No. 8, Solo Leveling and The Apothecary Diaries. It’s worth noting that Solo Leveling‘s nomination is based on its first season as the second season missed the cut-off window, though it could be considered in next year’s awards show.
Last year, MAPPA’s high-octane action series Jujutsu Kaisen dominated the Anime Awards, even though its nominations were largely based on the first arc of the second season (which consisted of the first five episodes), leaving fans hopeful that it’s much more acclaimed Shibuya Incident arc that made up the rest of the season would be eligible for this year’s awards season. That doesn’t seem to be the case as other shows have overshadowed it in several key categories.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Conflict has also earned a handful of nominations in categories like Best Continuing Series, Best Action Anime and Best Anime Score.
Elsewhere, some fan-favourite nominations include The Dangers in My Heart Season 2 up for Best Romance Anime, One Piece for Best Continuing Series, Ranma 1/2 for Best Comedy Anime, Pluto for Best Drama Anime and “Otonoke” by Creepy Nuts from Dan Da Dan for Best Anime Song.
Head over to Crunchyroll to view the complete list of nominees for the Anime Awards 2025. The awards show will take place in Tokyo on 25 May. Until 14 April, fans can cast their votes right here.
