Picks and Predictions For the Crunchyroll Anime Awards Anime of the Year

The Crunchyroll Awards nominations and voting are coming up on January 17. Like most awards shows, I have nominees I am rooting for, but the caveat of not seeing everything is very true here. Especially since anime covers so many different genres within the art form, and I relate to certain ones more than others. So I definitely haven’t seen enough, but I have several personal favorites and some I think have a chance to get in.

So here are my six choices for Anime of the Year.

Chainsaw Man

So I screwed up and suggested that this show be up for last year’s Crunchyroll Awards not realizing that the cut-off point was early November. But it is now eligible and it still deserves to get in! Our lead Denji is a man barely getting by in a world where demons that cause trouble exist but also can work with people. Denji has a small cute demon chainsaw that he works with that is part pet, part best friend, and when tragedy strikes he ends up merged and can now become a living chainsaw. He is then recruited into an organization that protects people from demons. (While that appears to be the main goal there are some secrets going on.)

There are a lot of dark things happening, with characters hunting demons for many reasons, including looking for revenge or having deep moral beliefs about the demons, and knowing the weight of putting their lives on the line. Our lead Denji is doing this because his life sucked and now he has a place to stay, food to eat, and maybe a chance to be with a woman. And if he dies in a huge fight, he doesn’t care because his life sucked before so no matter what things are better for now! It gives the show a great balance of the dangers of the world but lets us also enjoy some ridiculous over-the-top action from a really fun and unpredictable hero who can kill a demon one moment and then kick a guy in the balls repeatedly because they bugged him. Never can tell what will happen.

Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten

I have praised this show all year hoping it would get a surprise Emmy nomination, and it was number 3 on my Best TV shows of 2023. This show made me feel all gooey with joy every second; many fans called it “diabetes viewing” (in the best way possible). Amane, a bit of an outcast in school, finds out he is living next door to the most popular girl in school Mahiru (the angel). Through exchanging favors Mahiru ends up cooking over at Amane’s place, sharing in the cost of food, and so they are not eating alone at night.

The show doesn’t have huge moments or large reveals; it is simply two kind people who slowly learn about each other through just talking and little moments of kindness. We see what has damaged them and how talking and depending on each other they are able to feel better about themselves and how much they care about the other. Especially through Amane whose thoughts we hear, we wonder if things between them are becoming more than friends. It all led up to an incredibly satisfying ending that just made me want to squeal with joy and really want to see what is next for these two as they take the next steps in their relationship.

The Dangers in My Heart

Kyotaro and Anna are an unlikely couple on paper but seeing them together on screen they are perfect. Kyotaro is a moody kid who thinks he may be homicidal, and believes he wants to kill popular girl Anna, who seems to like everyone and is a model who does some acting. When she invades his hideaway in the library to eat junk food she keeps interacting with Kyotaro and he finds himself helping her out, be it bringing her water to mix her snack mix or throwing his bike down the road into a river to help her get a guy to stop bugging her. Not understanding himself, he keeps doing these things, slowly realizing his feelings but thinking they can never be returned due to who he is. She loves his kindness and starts spending more and more time with him, revealing herself to be a silly but good-hearted person who can be easily wounded and wants to make people happy. Their feelings are clear but Kyotaro doesn’t want to assume anything or put her out even as he does everything he can for her. These two are fun to watch and, with the second season just starting, it appears to still be going strong!

My Happy Marriage

Based on its premise, it seems to have a basic lovely story. In 19th century Japan, Miyo, the daughter of a prominent family who is treated like a servant, is forced into an engagement with Kudou, a man that is deemed cold due to many rejected proposals. This appears to be the quiet lovable girl that melts the hard man’s heart story. But there is a lot more going on here, including greater detail on Kudou’s personality that turns what appears to be the central concept on its head. Besides that, the show has a lot of political intrigue going on with many of the great houses trying to jockey for greater position. In a huge surprise after the first episode, we find out that not only does magic exist in this world but it is an intricate part of society and plays a huge role in the major families and the government.

This show was able to navigate many different genres and give them all their due. It quickly sets up the world we inhabit and shows how our characters live and function using two incredibly likable leads that are easy to want to see happy. That they are a couple is not in doubt, but it is seeing them learn about each other as that couple that keeps us invested in them. Seeing what drives them and how they learn to communicate with each other about not just what they want, but how they want to please their future spouse. On top of that simple drama, the deep political and magical situation is slowly revealed, resulting in bigger issues for the couple that keep the plot interesting but also enhance their feelings and stakes for them as a couple.

Oshi No Ko

The anime was so popular it graced the cover of SPUR Fashion Magazine and its opening song “Idol” was the highest ranking song by a Japanese artist in US Billboard’s Global 200 chart history. This show was a phenomenon and there was a good reason for it, it was phenomenal. Twin teenagers Aqua and Rudy (who have a quite interesting backstory that’s better to watch) are in the entertainment industry with different goals for strong emotional reasons. Ruby’s is to live out a dream that was literally impossible before, to be an idol. Aqua is driven by a desire for justice and revenge, and the people within the industry are the best clues he has. Through both of them we see the darkness of the entertainment industry, especially how it treats children and teenagers. We see how quickly people can be thrown aside, how little help is given when someone is struggling.

Yet we also see moments of great moral support, people stepping up and doing what they can to make things better. Kana, a former child star now in Ruby’s idol group, puts on a strong face knowing the industry but also has such doubts about herself when she lost being a star at such a young age. The way both Aqua and Ruby help her out is incredibly touching as she in turn gives them real insight into the way things work. This show pulls back the curtain about what being in the creative industry is really like. But then we also get twin babies dancing in sync with glowsticks at their mom’s concert!

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

The balancing act this show did was remarkable. The idea of a zombie apocalypse being a good thing for someone’s mental health is a hard enough story to tell, with Akira being crushed under an oppressive job but society collapsing gives him his freedom. It also adds a lot of humor with the cast bouncing off each other (and Akira’s friend Kencho constantly getting naked due to different situations is a great running gag). Then there is the great character work. Akira and Kencho as old friends reconnecting after the tension of the work world caused miscommunication. Or Shizuka’s backstory showing why she is so much of a planner and cut off from people. Yet there’s the darker aspect that the zombie apocalypse is a real threat. We see several examples of deep emotional wounds in several characters, and zombies killing people is treated with seriousness despite it being the event that gave Akira his freedom from a soul-killing job. Ironically, it was one of the funniest shows as well as most tragically heartful.

Actually predicted nominees:

Looking back over the previous nominees since the award started in 2017, slice of life and romance anime that I usually respond to are often limited to one nomination, if that. So most of my choices are unlikely picks. I do think Oshi No Ko will make it due to it being such a phenomenon that for it not to make it would be a scandal. Also Chainsaw Man was quite a hit with its different take on fighting monsters. Jujutsu Kaisen won this award in 2020 and was nominated again in 2021 and was well liked this year, so it seems locked. Vinland Saga was nominated in 2019 and, while I know early on many viewers called it a farming simulator show, it overall was highly praised for its deep character work. Attack on Titan ended and, while there was a mixed response to what happened, the show was a phenomenon that won in 2021 and was nominated last year and feels like it will get a send-off nomination. My final guess is Heavenly Delusion, which was a major hit this year that I tried to watch but didn’t get into. However, it appears to have a lot of passion that I think will get it in.

Voting takes place January 17–27.