Highlights
- The Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 returns to Tokyo on May 23.
- Nominees will be revealed on April 2.
- The ceremony will feature Yoko Takahashi.
The Crunchyroll Anime Awards will return to Tokyo, Japan, on May 23, 2026, for its 10th anniversary celebration, Crunchyroll announced on its official site. The ceremony will be held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa and will feature a global pre-show, an orange carpet, and live musical performances honoring nominees across 32 categories.
Japanese singer Yoko Takahashi will perform during the ceremony, delivering a 30th anniversary tribute to Neon Genesis Evangelion, including its opening theme, A Cruel Angel’s Thesis.
The live broadcast will also include symphonic suites performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Hirofumi Kurita with arrangements by Kazunori Miyake. Crunchyroll stated that more performances will be announced soon.
Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 Tokyo: Nominees, Categories and More
Crunchyroll confirmed that nominees for the 2026 Anime Awards will be revealed on April 2, 2026, when global fan voting opens.
Eligible anime series and films must have premiered between Jan 1 and Dec 31, 2025, with six nominees in each category initially selected by an independent judges panel. Winners will be determined through a second round of voting that combines judges’ votes with fan participation and will be revealed live on May 23, 2026.
The awards span 32 categories, including Anime of the Year, Film of the Year, Best New Series, and Best Continuing Series, alongside genre, technical, music, and performance honors.
At the 2025 ceremony, Solo Leveling won Anime of the Year. Look Back took Film of the Year, underscoring the event’s mix of fan-driven and critical recognition.
The 2026 ceremony will again be co-hosted by Sally Amaki and Jon Kabira, with the global pre-show hosted by Lauren Moore and Tim Lyu. Information on where to watch the live show has not yet been announced.
Since launching in 2017, the Crunchyroll Anime Awards have grown into a major annual showcase for anime worldwide. With its milestone 10th edition returning to Tokyo, the 2026 event positions itself as both a celebration of recent standouts and a global rallying point for fans voting on the medium’s next chapter.
