The winners of the 10th annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards were announced on May 23rd, hosted live from Japan in the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa. A full list of the honorees for the 2026 Anime Awards is available on their official website, with this year’s champion to take home Anime of the Year going to My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON.

This year’s hosts were once again the duo of famous voice actress Sally Amaki and popular presenter and entertainer Jon Kabira, returning for their fourth year. For presenting the winners of each award, a line-up of all-around world famous celebrities were assembled, with actor Asuka Saito, K-pop artist BamBam, renowned cosplayer Enako, award-winning actor Kasumi Arimura, comedic duo Mitorizu, actor Nanase Nishino, esports host Nyvi Estephan, actress Rashmika Mandanna, the founding architect of Wu-Tang Clan RZA, K-pop star TEN, worldwide award-winning actor Winston Duke, and finally award-winning singer Young Miko.

Hosting the pre-show were Lauren Moore, Tim Lyu and popular anime YouTuber Gigguk, as the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra started the night of anime history off with a symphony arrangement by Kazunori Miyake with conducting by Hirofumi Kurita. For the 2017 winner, DEAN FUJIOKA performed “History Maker,” from Yuri!!! on ICE, which was the first series to receive Anime of the Year. The 30th anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion was celebrated with a live performance by Yoko Takahashi, singing “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis.” For this year’s praised Anime of the Year, PORNOGRAFFITTI performed for My Hero Academia’s 10th anniversary and the series recent conclusion, with ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION rounding the back-to-back banger classics off with the second opening theme for Naruto, “Haruka Kanata.”

The main show ceremony had the late director, Tatsuya Nagamine, honored with the Global Impact Award. A tribute was held to the director’s diverse career, having worked on Dragon Ball Super, One Piece, and PreCure! among others. Masayuki Sato, a close friend and animator, accepted the award on his behalf.

While My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON took the limelight, other visionary animes voted by millions of fans worldwide earned their own marks and awards. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, the latest in the beautifully animated Demon Slayer franchise, brought home Film of the Year, alongside Best Score and Best Voice Actor Performance for the English VA of Akaza, Lucien Dodge. DAN DA DAN Season 2’s opening “On The Way” earned Best Opening Sequence, with the hilarious season as a whole earning Best Comedy. My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON won its second award for Best Ending Sequence with “BUMP OF CHICKEN,” as well as its third with Best Supporting Character for the hotheaded fan-favourite Katsuki Bakugo.

A new rising star in anime, Gachiakuta, won Best New Series, as well as two other awards for Best Background Art and Best Character Design, tying with My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, as well as season 2 of The Apothecary Diaries, having earned Best Drama, Best Main Character for Maomao, and Best Voice Artist Performance for Aoi Yuki, the voice of Maomao.  In addition, Season 3 of SPY x FAMILY took home the “Must Protect At All Cost” Character for the beloved child protagonist Anya, as well as the well-deserved award of Best Slice of Life. Further highlights can be found on Crunchyroll’s official website.

On the day of the event, Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) had also held a public viewing in the museum’s Redstone Theater, which was open to cosplayers with refreshments available for the die-hard fans of anime. MoMI’s partnership with Crunchyroll extends into a special exhibit set to display until October 12th, 2026, showcasing an episode of each Crunchyroll Anime Awards winning or nominated series, rotating every 2 weeks.
The 2 week screening program, titled Anime’s Ascendant Decade, began with Mob Psycho 100 and will continue running the series’ first episode until May 27th, when the next nominated or award-winning anime by the Anime Awards will be rotated in and displayed.