Crunchyroll Awards 2026 Ceremony Date Has Been Officially Confirmed

If there's one anime event that fans are waiting for every year, it's the Crunchyroll Awards. With the new year's anime season having officially begun, The Crunchyroll Awards 2026 are also fast approaching and naturally, fans are eagerly waiting in anticipation. In the latest report from Crunchyroll, it's been officially revealed that the Crunchyroll Awards for 2026 will be held in the month of May 2026, with the nominees being revealed to the fans as early as April. Given that The Crunchyroll Awards also count fan votes, voting for the nominees will officially begin in the month of April as well, with a two-week window given to fans from all around the world. After Solo Leveling’s massive win in 2025, all anime fans are excited to see which series makes its mark this year and ends up as the winner of the ultimate title of Anime of the Year.

2026 Crunchyroll Awards Are Coming on May 23

The 10th Annual Ceremony Event Will Unfold In Tokyo

Japan has many of its own anime award events that are highly prestigious, but with the influence of anime ever-growing worldwide, fans are also keenly looking forward to the global Anime Awards as well. Among them, one anime event especially stands out, and that is The Crunchyroll Awards. The Crunchyroll Awards are absolutely massive, and this year marks their 10th anniversary, which is sure to leave the fans with something special.

The 2026 Crunchyroll Awards finally have a date. The 10th annual ceremony will be held on May 23, 2026, and it's all going to unfold in Tokyo, Japan. This event is definitely going to be heated, and like last year, it will be co-hosted by Sally Amaki as well as Jon Kabira. The pre-show will be hosted by Lauren Moore and Tim Lyu, and there's a lot to look forward to besides that.

Fans can even expect a sensational performance from Yoko Takahashi as she performs the iconic theme “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Anime Nominees To Be Revealed On April 2nd

Voting Also Opens April 2nd, And Ends On April 15

While the Crunchyroll 2026 event itself will all unfold on May 23rd, there are other things to take into account before that, such as the nominees and the voting period. As far as the nominees go, fans will receive a comprehensive list over a month before the event itself. The final cut will be made known on April 2nd, 2026.

The Crunchyroll Awards are open to the public to vote, and fans will be able to support their favorite series, if it has been nominated, by voting between April 2nd and April 15, 2026. This gives fans around 2 weeks to vote for various series over a multitude of categories. Overall, this year’s Crunchyroll Award will have 32 awards for various shows to snatch.

Possible Nominees for The Crunchyroll 2026 Awards

With the 2026 Crunchyroll Awards coming very soon, fans have definitely started starting pushing forward their favorites for the win already, which is a telling sign as to how heated the competition is going to be. Of course, there are many categories to consider in these awards, and like every year, the most anticipated one is that of Anime of the Year — the most prestigious award an anime series can win.

Last year, Solo Leveling Season 1 was crowned as Anime of the Year, and this year could be no different. Solo Leveling Season 2 was incredibly exciting, and quite easily an upgrade on the first one, and some fans believe it could be the one to win again. This is especially true when considering the fact that the series is already the highest-rated and most popular on Crunchyroll.

That said, the fan favorite for this year is not Solo Leveling but instead the final season of a major shonen anime, My Hero Academia. Besides these two, there are also the likes of The Apothecary Diaries and Takopi’s Original Sin to be considered.

Aside from the title of Anime of the Year, fans are also excited to see who wins the Best Main Character award. Once again, last year, Solo Leveling took this award when Sung Jinwoo became the Best Main Character of 2025. With its second season being an even bigger step up for Jinwoo, it isn't out of the realm of possibilities for Jinwoo to win again. Of course, there are other strong contenders that could come win as well, such as Izuku Midoriya from My Hero Academia Season 8, who delivered a stellar performance and could be the one to win, and many other compelling anime characters like Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries), Momo Ayase (Dandadan), and Okarun (Dandadan).

The category of Best Action is also one of the most exciting ones that often tend to follow. For Crunchyroll's 2026 Award, it could definitely be heated between Solo Leveling Season 2 and My Hero Academia Season 8. My Hero Academia Season 8 showcased incredible action in the battles of Izuku Midoriya and Shigaraki, as well as Bakugo and All for One. However, Solo Leveling Season 2 also had a major battle that took the world by storm in Jinwoo versus The Ant King. The winner in this category is definitely going to be one of these two anime.

The Film of the Year award will also be insanely exciting in 2026, as some stellar anime movies aired last year. Notably, the two biggest are definitely Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc. Due to the popularity of Demon Slayer, it is almost a guarantee that it will be the one to come out on top for the Best Film of the Year award, but Chainsaw Man definitely has a huge chance to stand out if its fans show up for it at these awards.

While not as exciting as the Best Main Character, the Best Supporting Character is also an exciting award where secondary characters get to shine. Last year, Fern, from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, won, but this year, the winner is certainly going to be from a different series. Many believe Bakugo, from My Hero Academia Season 8, was the biggest highlight as a secondary character, and that he should be the one to take that award home. If Deku wins the award for Best Main Character and Bakugo the Best Supporting Character, it would certainly be a major year for My Hero Academia, and a perfect send-off for the series as well.

There are, of course, many other awards out there, such as Best New Series, Best Isekai Series, Best Slice of Life, Best Voice Actor Performance, and many more. Each of these categories is going to be exciting in its own way.

While things can change, at the moment, My Hero Academia Season 8 and Solo Leveling Season 2 look like the biggest contenders. Fans are definitely excited to see which one takes the lead and accumulates the most awards.