I loved Gachiakuta but that girls waist with her pelvis jutting out should disqualify them from character design
ball_throwerAFK2026-01-25 19:33
Clothes look cool tho
MapoTofuMan2026-01-25 19:40
Gachiakuta's character designs are probably some of my least favorite in anime, aside from being unique I really can't say a single positive thing about them.
ball_throwerAFK2026-01-25 19:43
Personally they all look really short, even the ones who are meant to look tall, are just drawn short.
You can say it’s malnutrition or whatever, but yeah it doesn’t look great
DrStein10102026-01-25 19:48
Yeah, it's explicitly malnutrition.
Rudo's growth is stunted, and Riyo is concerningly underweight.
DrStein10102026-01-25 19:47
She's dangerously malnourished, as are several other characters.
It's part of the worldbuilding. No one has enough to eat unless you're a member of the upper class.
ClemFire2026-01-25 19:26
It is funny to see in the romance section everyone is super happy besides poor Hinako. Also they are based for using a picture of Hina for Blue Box
Lemurians2026-01-25 19:40
It's only right to use Hina to represent Hina Box.
ClemFire2026-01-25 19:49
To me she is the protagonist of Blue Box
smart_is_cool10202026-01-25 20:18
+1
DrStein10102026-01-25 19:45
Hina is the only redeeming quality of the show.
Whenever Hina isn't on screen, I ask "Where's Hina?"
Hitman71282026-01-25 19:46
> poor Hinako
Hopefully, the yuri pulls her out of depression one day
noctaviann2026-01-25 19:48
Hinako is smiling though, which is basically her being super happy!
cppn022026-01-25 20:37
> everyone is super happy besides poor Hinako.
She's asking herself how she landed in Romance.
ClemFire2026-01-25 20:41
I was surprised too because while there's a slow burn romance I think of Watatabe as a drama first
abandoned_idol2026-01-25 19:30
Why are all the adventure category thumbnails screenshots of eyes?
Eye-dventure?
aniMayor2026-01-25 19:31
Because it's fun!
Some of the other categories have visual themes for the thumbnails as well, see if you can spot them all!
[deleted]2026-01-25 19:33
[deleted]
flonc2026-01-25 19:35
I really dont get how Gachiakuta's first opening is not there lol
Mountain-Purple34212026-01-25 19:44
Yeah Kaijuu would be a great OP too
BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-25 19:56
Wasn’t eligible this year since it was eligible last year.
DrStein10102026-01-25 19:46
The visuals are way more important than the songs for these things.
And the AH OP is solid, dammit.
marioporfirio2026-01-25 19:46
And I dont know why apocalypse hotel isnt in anime of the year
DEUCE_SLUICE2026-01-25 19:52
I'm with you on that one. (And got lit up for it previously.) I love everything about it but the singing, which is out of tune enough to be past the point of feeling like it's a stylistic choice to me.
BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-25 19:53
For the record I’m not an OP juror.
The opening is here because it represents the series well and is just a great opening. Yachiyo starts as a solo act with a slower dance and a more melancholic tone to the song. Some moves of the dance are intended for two even though she’s the only one there. It then jumps to Yachiyo being surrounded by the characters who now give her life since humanity left. It’s a lively environment now that Yachiyo has people to share it with and that encapsulates what the show is about overall. It’s a focused and simple OP conceptually with excellent execution. The slightly off kilter vocals also give it an intimate, nostalgic, old timey feel, which ties into that theme of Yachiyo being attached to the past but eventually enthusiastically embracing the future.
Overall it’s a pretty distinctive OP that ties into the series very well. Also the dance is exceptionally animated.
DoctorWhoops2026-01-25 19:56
The Apocalypse Hotel does a fantastic job of subtly yet poigniantly evoking the main throughline of the show, which is Yachiyo struggling to maintain her composure and sense of purple in the absence of humanity, considering serving them was her life's work and reason for existing.
The OP beautifully evokes this sense of hollowness as Yachiyo performs a choreography that's clearly meant to not be done alone; Propping her arms up for a waltz as if she's supposed to be held by someone, smiling to an audience that left hundreds of years ago, and framing that emphasizes the lack of symmetry and empty space very clearly. She's dancing a group choreography by herself, with a smile that hides an existential crisis that any watcher of the show knows she slowly comes to terms with, but she ultimately finds new alien lifeforms to take the place left behind by her human colleagues and guests, as showcased by the second half of the OP.
Between a list of OP that were otherwise selected for production quality and visual flair the Apocalypse Hotel might feel like an odd one out, but the OPs ability to evoke the show's emotional themes and narrative threads really stood out and makes it memorable in a different but equally valuable way.
Gamerunglued2026-01-25 19:59
The song is off-kilter intentionally, it builds tension that releases in the chorus. It's a fantastic song with even better visuals that encapsulate the central struggles of the story in a creative and evocative way. An OP of the decade contender imo, let alone of this year.
carcatta2026-01-25 19:34
I love those silent witch and uma musume pictures close together.
Also positively surprised mangaka's workplace got the nomination at least in one category.
qef152026-01-25 23:04
>mangaka's workplace
I'm also very surprised, yet very happy, I do love it, but I never thought it would be good enough in a single category to get nominated. Especially as slice of life is just stupidly stacked.
ball_throwerAFK2026-01-25 19:35
Takopi **should** run away with most of the awards here. Apart from Orb, the only ones worthy of actually being Anime of the year. Orb debatable as it began in 2024, but it’d be okay if it won.
Unfortunately it’ll probably be Dandadan or My dress up darling or smth.
Also, [Solo leveling ED 2](https://youtu.be/KxeHOxO3A3I?si=MDbarA8AwYhQQjWi) missing is a travesty, TK was incredible here
Lemurians2026-01-25 19:39
Just a note on process – OP/ED don't just judge the song, but also the visuals and how those things work together.
That TK song is a certified banger, though.
Salty1452026-01-25 19:37
Someone had too much fun putting this graphic together. I see what you did there...
A little pleasantly surprised to see which entries got Public votes. Makes me think my vote might matter sometimes. *Mono* in SoL and *Mononoke* in Movie were surprising. *City* in comedy too. Maybe y'all have better taste than I give you credit for.
Overall, a pretty solid line-up looking at it. I'm sure I'll find a way to be disappointed with the results, but it can't possibly be worse than whatever CR puts up in July or August or 2027 or whenever they have their awards for 2025.
TehAxelius2026-01-25 20:57
> Someone had too much fun putting this graphic together. I see what you did there...
It's a collaborative effort. Each jury has the opportunity to pick out their own images and themes (if any) for the graphic.
It might even be one of the most important jobs of the jury.
[](#rinkek)
lobsterwine2026-01-25 23:01
Mononoke's new movies deserve so much more attention than they seem to have gotten. I do think the first was a bit shaky due to pacing breaking immersion (though the story was great), but the second one was amazing through and through. I'm so excited for the third.
paukshop2026-01-25 19:38
If you guys recall, yday we made the call to replace Tetoris in the MV category since it didn't have enough animation. So [here is the updated nominations chart with that change in mind](https://imgur.com/WafJZjG.png). Thanks and sorry for the confusion!
aniMayor2026-01-25 19:42
How come all these Tetos don't have their characteristic hair drills
[](#thinkingtoohard)
cppn022026-01-25 20:40
I commend the effort of not just reusing last year's but actually changing every single image.
[](#kannathumbs)
Unknownlight2026-01-25 19:41
I’m disappointed Gnosia didn’t get a nomination for character design (unless it doesn’t count for 2025?)
Lemurians2026-01-25 19:46
Gnosia is eligible for 2026 since that's when it will complete, except for its OP and ED, which were eligible this year.
DrStein10102026-01-25 19:49
It's still ongoing, so it's invalid.
PsychoGeek2026-01-25 19:43
Those drama public noms are so bizarre when compared to [Fetch's poll](https://i.redd.it/qb96zexioidg1.png). How did Apocalypse Hotel and Medalist miss the public nom? How did Apocalypse hotel not get a single public nom anywhere?
BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-25 20:21
I as a drama juror was definitely surprised at the public nominations, especially after the poll. I expected Uma Musume, Silent Witch, and Orb, but Fujimoto and Bunny Girl Senpai were surprises. Bunny Girl Senpai especially was a surprise with it not even appearing on the chart as well as being from summer, which lead me to believe it wouldn’t be nominated.
Since Fetch’s poll uses a different methodology though, it isn’t *too* surprising. There’s also the fact that it’s not always the same people voting between them.
I’d say Medalist and Apocalypse Hotel have more dedicated fanbases that aren’t as large, so that’s likely why it scored highly on the poll but didn’t get a public nom.
Likes2game032026-01-25 19:46
Glad that like 20 of 50 anime I've watched from that year is here. Gonna pissed if there was less than 10 again.
Hitman71282026-01-25 19:46
Everyone be sleepy in the SoL section
ClemFire2026-01-25 19:50
It looks like Ruri is wondering the same
qef152026-01-25 23:22
And that genre is probably the best-filled it has been in recent memory.
And they also did a legit good job picking what was good,
And the other slice of life that I would also have liked to see in slice of life (Bad Girl, Mangaka's Workplace) at least got a secondary nomination in comedy.
But I will legit rage if Precure wins the jury noms, considering the quality of the rest of the nominations this year.
Ocixo2026-01-25 19:46
I’m still confused with Rock is Lady’s Modesty being categorised as a “drama”. I would’ve never put it alongside the likes of Orb or Medalist. Assume that it’s a lack of other options that landed it in this genre.
ClemFire2026-01-25 19:58
I would cleanly categorize it as primarily a drama similar to other girl band shows like MyGo! and Girls Band Cry especially for its episodes highlighting the difference between Lilisa's lady and rock personas. There was more thematic meat to chew on my the end than I expected going on.
noctaviann2026-01-25 19:47
DanMachi S5 being nominated for the ***Adventure*** category and not the ***Action*** category feels really wrong to me.
The last 4 episodes of the season had some of the best fights in all the anime I've seen and considering that there was basically no adventuring in the entire season I'm confused...
Lemurians2026-01-25 19:53
We allow genre categories to pick up certain series if the genre they were initially allocated to doesn't nominate them, provided they still fit that other genre. DanMachi S5 was allocated to Action, but since neither the public or jury nominated it there, the Adventure jury was free to pick it up.
DrStein10102026-01-25 20:31
As someone on both Action and Adventure: The Adventure crew were just more interested in the show, so it went there. Even Season 5 revolves enough around the adventure and world building aspects of the show that I figured it fit fine.
t8trtot962026-01-25 19:47
Is this crunchy roll’s? I’m shocked that demon slayer movie isn’t on that list
NormalGrinn2026-01-25 19:51
This is for the r/anime Awards. The Demon Slayer is not eligible there because it currently only is out in theatres.
First thing I see when opening that info graphic - Kenjiro Tsuda as Nowak.. another amazing performance.
JustSD2026-01-25 19:49
I feel like New Panty and Stocking should’ve gotten nominated for Character Design imo
Afellowstanduser2026-01-25 19:50
Disappointing honestly
DrStein10102026-01-25 20:54
What disappointed you specifically?
Roes_Fluer_Ransismer2026-01-25 19:50
I hope orb gets the Anime of the year . Such a unique experience , each and every dialogue having so much meaning behind more you think about.
This anime reminds me of the wonders of wondering about the world, curiosity being a beautiful gift of humanity that even the sins cannot contain it in. Their passion for the truth gives me hope
Able-Nebula44492026-01-25 19:51
Mha final season should’ve been nominated for aoty
SubmissiveDinosaur2026-01-25 19:53
Rock wa Lady my beloved
memeyy112026-01-25 19:54
Pretty disappointed as usual. Where is 100 Meters for the movie nom?
We had so many OUTSTANDING romance anime this year, but the category is mostly filled with selections that were okay at best
BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-25 19:59
100 Meters just missed the eligibility window for the awards this year so it’ll be eligible next year.
hanr102026-01-25 20:11
What's the cutoff ? I'm surprised not to see Underdog by Eve in the MV section
aniMayor2026-01-25 20:27
Underdog wasn't eligible at all because it's animated by OFF SCRIPT (aka Xiao Han) and Ian Zhang, who are both Canadian animators that don't have a substantial body of work within the anime industry. So it doesn't meet the subreddit definition of "what is anime" - short films and music videos have to be either animated by people working at an anime institution (e.g. an anime studio, Japanese art university, etc) or a Japanese independent animator working in Japan or someone who has moved to Japan to work in the industry, etc.
It is an awesome music video though, and I'm really glad to see OFF SCRIPT getting more big-name projects like this as I've loved their youtube shorts for a long time. This detailed breakdown of part of Underdog by Howard Wimshurst was great, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8WHYWZoYFw
Protractror2026-01-25 20:03
As mentioned 100 Meters will be eligible for next year’s awards, but I’m interested in which romances you think we missed on?
I agree there were a lot of fun ones this year, including ones that missed the cut so I’m wondering which ones you meant.
Lemurians2026-01-25 20:05
What were some of the Romance shows you think were outstanding that didn't get nominated?
CoolVidsFTW2026-01-25 19:55
Most-nominated titles for this year's awards
**Note**: The jury cannot nominate an entry if it was already among the public’s top five selections during the nomination voting phase. [The public votes on and chooses their nominees first, jury then selects their five from the remainder.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1qmqrwc/comment/o1o5qas/)
|Nominee|Total Nominations|Public Nominations|Jury Selections (after Public nomination vote)|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|[Dandadan (Season 2)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/60543/Dandadan_2nd_Season)|10|10|0|
|[The Apothecary Diaries (Season 2)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58514/Kusuriya_no_Hitorigoto_2nd_Season)|10|10|0|
|[My Dress-Up Darling (Season 2)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/53065/Sono_Bisque_Doll_wa_Koi_wo_Suru_Season_2)|9|6|3|
|[Takopi's Original Sin](https://myanimelist.net/anime/60489/Takopii_no_Genzai)|9|8|1|
|[Call of the Night (Season 2)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58390/Yofukashi_no_Uta_Season_2)|6|3|3|
|[Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc](https://myanimelist.net/anime/57555/Chainsaw_Man_Movie__Reze-hen)|6|6|0|
|[CITY the Animation](https://myanimelist.net/anime/59898/City_The_Animation)|6|4|2|
|[Orb: On the Movements of the Earth](https://myanimelist.net/anime/52215/Chi_Chikyuu_no_Undou_ni_Tsuite)|6|6|0|
|[The Summer Hikaru Died](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58913/Hikaru_ga_Shinda_Natsu)|6|3|3|
|[Apocalypse Hotel](https://myanimelist.net/anime/59675/Apocalypse_Hotel)|5|0|5|
|[Gachiakuta](https://myanimelist.net/anime/59062/Gachiakuta)|5|4|1|
|[Sorairo Utility](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58066/Sorairo_Utility_TV)|5|0|5|
Lemurians2026-01-25 20:04
Worth noting for anyone reading who's unaware, seeing things with big public/jury splits – the public votes on and chooses their nominees first, jury then selects their five from the remainder.
Also find the things that get a handful of public *and* jury nominees to be the most fascinating, means public liked them enough to nominate them in certain spots, but not everywhere where the jury also thought they should be.
Works with a lot of jury nominations only are clearly being slept on and people should check them out
[](#mugiwait)
Psyduckisnotaduck2026-01-25 22:53
indicative that MDUD and City are both reasonably well liked by the public and esteemed by the picky people. Hikaru and CotN were probably also on the bubble for the public in a few categories, just barely missing, I'd wager.
aniMayor2026-01-25 20:10
Sounds like Sorairo Utility was quite underwatched by the subreddit
[](#bigthink)
MyrnaMountWeazel2026-01-25 19:56
Public voting is now open, so come cast your votes here: https://animeawards.moe/participate/final-vote!
Michailovicescu20002026-01-25 19:57
Comedy will be tough:
Hyakkano has such an amazing wacky comedy
But Grand Blue has it's realistic comedy
DoctorWhoops2026-01-25 19:59
##OP/ED nominee playlist below!
If you're looking for an easy way to find all **nominees for the OP (Opening) and ED (Ending) category**, I have some playlists so you can digest them easily!
[Here is a short playlist of all OP nominees in alphabetical order by song title](https://animethemes.moe/playlist/wnL0cBqn)
[And here is the same style of playlist for all ED nominees!](https://animethemes.moe/playlist/KMvLSml2)
charactergallery2026-01-25 19:59
Still disappointed that *The Summer Hikaru Died* wasn’t nominated for anime of the year, but it will always be the anime of the year in my heart.
Dull_Spot_82132026-01-25 20:11
The Summer Hikaru Died is AOTY to me too. And definitely more deserving of a nomination, if we go with the actual spirit of this sub’s community, than three of those jury picks. I don’t even need to point out which ones. Everyone knows. Even the public recognized The Summer Hikaru Died in multiple other categories, as well as other juries.
UMP45isnotflat2026-01-25 23:42
I wonder how big the gap between public voters and active commentors is because going by comments alone there is no way The Summer Hikaru Died, Apocalypse Hotel and Cinderella Grey not beeing nominated.
sizzl752026-01-25 19:59
Kowloon Generic Romance only nominated once is crazy
TrooperGary2026-01-25 20:00
Zenshu better win Adventure man, one of my favorite shows I have ever seen
monsieurvampy2026-01-25 20:35
I'm wondering why its not under animation.
AdiMG2026-01-25 20:58
I maintain [a spreadsheet for shows with the most amount of uploads on sakugabooru annually](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DHA0krZuWvdPRQRM-XKmIMLH0lnoPs2uaTbFgm1q2Vs/edit?usp=sharing) (it's not a perfect metric but its a decent barometer to get a reasonable idea of what the best animation shows in an year are) and Zenshu isn't even in the top 25 of the year let alone the top 10.
The entries that were closest to making the cut for the animation jury besides what was ultimately nominated were Daima (which was extremely solid, but ultimately the jury thought its appeal was quite similar to Yaiba but Yaiba just did what it does better), Gundam GQuuuuX (its character acting was highly praised for its specificity for Machu and Nyaan's scenes, but less so for the extended cast in the second half. The Mecha action was hit-and-miss too), and Visions (which has an incredible peak in Ohira's Black episode, but the rest of the anthology isn't close to that level so it was deemed to fit better as an Honorable Mention).
MeMecurseyou2026-01-25 20:00
[deleted]
ClemFire2026-01-25 20:06
We all have our favorites that we wish got more nominations.
muthiyou2026-01-25 20:04
where is Orb op 😢
BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-25 20:31
It wasn’t eligible this year since it was eligible last year.
Sant2682026-01-25 20:05
Suspense- I can see Apothecary S2 getting it but my god Shoshimin cooked
nonez123z2026-01-25 20:11
Shoshimin op is peak never seen a op like that before especially a jazz song.
habattack002026-01-25 21:17
It’s also super visually impressive!
Strange-Peanuts2026-01-25 21:32
I want it to win, but I can’t see it happening. Most of the other anime are far more popular from what I can tell.
Jusenkyo_52026-01-25 20:11
If every category has 2+ mediocre anime the nominee size should be reduced. Some of these picks are absolutely wild.
SambaLando2026-01-25 20:19
way too many nominees per category, 5 should be the max.
Jacob1996512026-01-25 20:19
I'm always surprised by the AotY jury nominees. 2 out of 5 didn't get nominated for anything else, and 1 only got nominated for a single other position. It makes me wonder if there's a methodology failure on that category in particular causing outliers. How do you guys handle secondary picks, and overlaps with public nominees?
CoolVidsFTW2026-01-25 20:47
For genre categories, each anime is assigned a single primary genre. However, jurors can also shortlist an anime outside of its primary genre if the category host agrees it’s a reasonable fit. These are "secondaries." If an anime isn’t nominated by either the public or the jury within its primary genre, any category that shortlisted it as a secondary can still nominate it there, assuming it has enough jury support. For example, both the public and the jury passed on This Monster Wants to Eat Me in Suspense, but it received enough jury support to earn a nomination in Romance. Similarly, both groups passed on Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? in Action, yet it secured a jury nomination in Adventure.
As for overlaps, [the public selects their nominees first. After that, the jury chooses their five nominees from the remaining pool of anime they've shortlisted.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1qmqrwc/comment/o1o5qas/)
Jacob1996512026-01-25 21:50
When I said secondaries, I meant secondary picks within the same category. Like one juror could rank their top 3 nominations in a category to avoid polarization bias. Unless you guys decide nominations by committee discussion or something.
CoolVidsFTW2026-01-25 22:26
There are two ways jury nominations get decided. A category can either reach a group consensus, or it can go to a formal vote. In the latter case, jurors submit a full ranked list of every shortlisted entry they’re eligible to vote on (i.e. shows they've watched and discussed with other jurors) from highest to lowest. Those rankings are then aggregated using [Copeland’s Method](https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymakermath4libarts/chapter/copelands-method/) to determine the jury's nominees.
Psyduckisnotaduck2026-01-25 22:50
I like that genre allocation system because some series are hard to pin down to one genre. though I feel like Watatabe is more drama than it is either romance or suspense, but whatever.
GoddessOfLilies2026-01-25 21:21
To be fair, I do think Mirai Days is that good, even if it wasn't nominated elsewhere. Very surprised to see it there at all, but hey, I'm not complaining, it's the one I'm going for.
manquistador2026-01-25 21:44
The methodology is that the jury self selects, and the only jurors willing to do it have very particular tastes.
Infodump_Ibis2026-01-25 22:40
If you've not done so read [the inside talk on this particular AOTY](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1ql18ey/ranime_awards_2025_public_voting_now_open/o1at0pr/). Sounds like a lot of things went wrong though at least Pripara seemed to be an amusing quirk (it's like an induced no-show paradox).
Jacob1996512026-01-26 01:22
This makes SO much sense now. It sounds like the requirements for "shortlisting" are too lax, if it becomes that difficult to find eligible jurors
Theleux2026-01-26 02:12
Personally, as a previous juror for the category (2020-2023[*initially*]) I think it is more so a factor of the voting process being easily 'abused' in a sense when the jury is on the smaller side. I wouldn't even say it is intentional, but it tends to feel that way.
That, plus the same jurors getting into AOTY most years with often very similar preferences, it leads to being one of the more predictable categories in that sense, which it shouldn't really be with how many shows are included in it (basically everything).
aniMayor2026-01-25 20:20
Here's a handy list of links for the short films and music videos categories if you haven't already checked them out!
 
**Short Films:**
* **Bottled Insects:** https://youtu.be/CCbKm14_zuE?si=NFVEE7WHzyLvSEue
* **Fire Craft:** https://youtu.be/-wL0TZzcKWE?si=lbxMcrfwamfFC7G2
* **First Line:** *no link, sorry*
* **Mamiko's Poop:** https://youtu.be/nEAFgHtuOIk?si=9Onai-EIeku8FLju
* **Red Memory (Aka no Kioku):** https://youtu.be/MAsy0QkeTpw?si=SYqyRongrgcP38JN
* **Bâan: Otona no Kyoukai:** https://youtu.be/V-P3HWXGYm4?si=sZeRVgoUQ3X9OtEI
* **Fate/Grand Order - 10th Anniversary Movie:** https://youtu.be/11vAh33_2eI?si=vYi1sd9pCPpe5MVJ
* **Run Run Lantern:** https://youtu.be/1iLnz2ZuJNE?si=mHjH71QJOBzEDIZK
* **Ruri Dragon PV:** https://youtu.be/80islLpIrLs?si=IOhrSyJLSgx9TG0y
* **We're the main characters... but we didn't hear about this!:** https://youtu.be/0GWcEp67jAo?si=D7y6WyFG3iWZGiO6
Anime of the year I vote either Re:Zero s3 or Call of the night s2
probablyamagician2026-01-25 20:24
Apocalypse Hotel is anime of the year in my heart.
Fifi_is_awesome2026-01-25 20:28
did Reze arc not qualify for some categories because it was a film? I was surprised to not see it in any of the visual categories, or soundtrack
Lists like this always are difficult for me because I consider Orb to be the best show here but I also consider that to be a 2024 show, not a 2025 one. And a lot of amazing 2025 shows like Takopi, Mha, and Apothecary diaries might get passed over in celebration of a show i’ve already given its flowers to
Lemurians2026-01-25 20:32
Yes, movies are not eligible for production categories because we feel they have too great an advantage over TV series productions.
Fifi_is_awesome2026-01-25 20:46
i can understand why that choice would be made
redpandasinpajamas2026-01-25 20:29
I have a really hard time believing Demon slayer infinity castle is not up for movie of the year? How not????
Apothecary Diaries deserves all the awards! Love to see it.
NormalGrinn2026-01-25 20:47
The Demon Slayer movie is not eligible as it only has been released in theatres.
RandallsBakery2026-01-25 22:34
Shouldn’t that be true for the chainsaw man movie too then?
NormalGrinn2026-01-25 22:38
No, the CSM movie is available on streaming.
Holofan4life2026-01-25 20:35
How in the world is Takopi's Original Sin not nominated for best drama?
NormalGrinn2026-01-25 20:46
Because it is in Suspense.
cppn022026-01-25 20:35
Already said [my piece](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1ql18ey/ranime_awards_2025_public_voting_now_open/o1awsod/) on the nominations on friday so to say a nice thing for once the image does look very nice and I like how even outside the production categories we have themes going with the images for each category.
kyle_paxk2026-01-25 20:41
i cant see shit in the picture
qwertyqwerty45672026-01-25 22:34
It's cause reddit mobile sucks with very high res pictures. It looks fine on desktop
darkmacgf2026-01-25 23:28
zoom in bro
Whatah2026-01-25 20:41
Was Infinity Castle not eligible for best movie?
aniMayor2026-01-25 20:49
Nope, since it was only viewable in theatres up to the end of 2025. Eligibility requires a streaming/blu-ray release. So it'll be eligible for the 2026 awards.
Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-25 20:43
Done voting, but damn, I think maybe 1 out of 10 categories included my actual Best X of the year...
Always bittersweet voting for your like #4 of the year.
(Even more when you know it's gonna lose vs your #35 of the year)
[](#emptyinside)
Atsunome2026-01-25 20:59
Interesting that the Precure nominee here is Wonderful (2024-2025), given that Kimi to Idol (2025-2026) was the primary one this year. Makes sense if we’re only counting completed anime, though, since Precure always finishes early the following year. Either way, happy to see it appear.
Edit: Just learned it’s based on having a full release, which is amusing because Precure will always miss out by 3-4 episodes each year, lol.
Organic-Habit-30862026-01-25 21:12
Reze ED making it in when its not really an ED is puzzling. I do adore the song, one of my favorite anisongs in years, but it really isn't an ED animation.
Dandadan S2 for best OST is..I dunno. It is good and popular and maybe that's enough but personally I don't find it award worthy. There's great pieces like the Kaiju theme which I adore and is a great homage to Ifukube but that was about it honestly. Of this year it was probably Ushio's weakest work, especially compared to ORB and his Chainsaw Man soundtrack which was some of his best work in years.
ZachTheBomb2026-01-25 21:13
I'm rooting hard for MHA to win best ending. I is such a beautiful encapsulation of the entire show, with both gorgeous visuals and a great song
ClemFire2026-01-25 21:40
It's honestly the award I believe MHA is the most deserving to win as someone who has watched the series since S1EP1. Cried the first time it played
MammothDreams2026-01-25 21:16
[I voted!](https://i.imgur.com/QkGvlJC.jpeg)
koogam2026-01-25 21:17
CLEAVATESS FTW
WHY NO ANIME OF THE YEAR. BULLSHIT
LacerationCe2026-01-25 21:22
No fucking way Cinderella Gray isn't nominated for Anime of the year, this year award is dead for me
brokenwingsR2026-01-25 21:36
the jury nominees are so strange i didn't bother voting lol
Psyduckisnotaduck2026-01-25 22:58
yeah that feels like a gigantic failure, if the Jury had simply gone for some combination of Hikaru, City, Apocalypse Hotel, or Cinderella Gray over PriPara and Mirai Days, nobody would have been bothered. but the handful of people responsible literally don't give the slightest fuck about what anyone else thinks, ever, even that their behavior is completely consistent and so unsurprising that their claim of representing the underrepresented falls flat, because they just vote for the same shit over and over. if it happened once or twice, sure.
but I think at this point we can be dead certain if nothing changes, the Jury isn't going to save, say, Journal With Witch. it'll just be You and Idol Precure, even if the reception to it was lukewarm. when that happens I will be here to shake my head and stare at the little clique with the utmost contempt. you know who you are, and you're not funny or cool.
_Ridley2026-01-26 01:20
> I think at this point we can be dead certain if nothing changes, the Jury isn't going to save, say, Journal With Witch. it'll just be You and Idol Precure
I will laugh. Oh my word, will I laugh.
FrogNoPants2026-01-26 00:40
I was going to vote, but no Cinderella Gray as an option is insane so this is meaningless
EyeDeeAh_422026-01-25 21:24
Kinda sad that Hyakuemu wasn't part of the movies nominations. Really enjoyed the animation and the storytelling. I hope we get to see more of Uoto's work in the future.
NeptuneOW2026-01-25 21:33
The Summer Hikaru Died deserves background art 100%
Chance_Today21652026-01-26 01:09
It deserves everything.
manquistador2026-01-25 21:40
Without fail the jury for Anime of the Year has some very questionable picks.
Psyduckisnotaduck2026-01-25 23:00
someone in the Voting is Open thread explained the process, and it's Clown Shit. at least every other Jury category turned out pretty good. it really is just AotY that is totally busted. that category should be a blind ballot by every participating juror in every category with no requirement to have seen a little of everything. I do not understand the logic of how it currently works as anything other than a handful of people continuing to rule it as their own personal fiefdom. if it's not that, the people responsible need to come forward and articulate why it makes any sense.
manquistador2026-01-25 23:25
Yah I just read through that. They just need to change the way AotY operates. It is simply not feasible to have the same requirements as the other juries. People being forced to watch shows/genres they hate makes for a miserable experience that few people want to go through.
UMP45isnotflat2026-01-25 23:39
Idk if you say a show sucks without even giving it a try you shouldnt be a juror though? The issue was the short time to watch it and discuss against it.
AguyinaRPG2026-01-26 04:36
Some of the long-timers here were very obviously huge defenders of CGDCT in the 2000s and will forever believe the only true form of storytelling are those about young women and friendship.
Witn2026-01-26 11:18
I want to share r/anime awards with other circles as a great/objective list of the best anime of the year, but can't because every year it becomes more obvious that there is a severe bias where the jury keeps picking the same genres every year.
sexy_snake_229xXx2026-01-25 21:45
I know and get the reason and I'm not hating, but it's still upsetting that re:zero was made for this year instead of last year, season 3 was really good and I feel like the hype has been completely gone, only 1 nomination hurts man, I hope it wins.
Monster-13372026-01-25 21:45
Orb. That is all.
ptd1632026-01-25 21:51
Surely My Dress-Up Darling and Marin win at least something here, right?. It was too good not to.
TylerJamesDurden2026-01-25 22:02
Is One Piece not allowed on these lists?
Kenalskii2026-01-25 22:22
Given the massive length of the eligible material of One Piece thus far, we are planning something special for it. It's not eligible for the regular categories though, but it will be honoured this year
Whendfield1232026-01-25 22:05
How did grieving soul not get nominated for comedy? Its way more comedic than some of the nominees.
Vaxivop2026-01-25 22:35
We judge each genre holistically. It's best anime in the comedy genre not the anime that's the most comedic
zsmg2026-01-25 22:25
Beyond the Time didn't make it to the best ED list, I tried my fellow Gundam fans. [](#not-raining)
RandallsBakery2026-01-25 22:29
I’m surprised I didn’t see infinity castle under movie or animation nominations.
gem2niki2026-01-25 22:30
the thumbnail choices XDD very clever.
RandallsBakery2026-01-25 22:30
I’m surprised I didn’t see infinity castle under movie or animation nominations.
oldeuboiii2026-01-25 22:30
The Apothecary Diaries and Call of the Night as Suspense?
Vaxivop2026-01-25 22:34
They could both have fit other genres (drama specifically) but the mystery aspect of both make them both primary suspense in our eyes.
oldeuboiii2026-01-25 23:08
For me suspense are things like Erased, Higurashi, Perfect blue, etc.
Vaxivop2026-01-25 23:17
Those are also suspense for sure but I'd argue the mystery genre is within that just as much.
Psyduckisnotaduck2026-01-25 23:12
idk both make a lot of sense to me especially given the final quarter of the former, and the latter having the looming threat of whatever Anko was trying to do lurking over it until the climax.
UMP45isnotflat2026-01-25 23:55
Call of the night was definitely suspense heavy with the detective arc
WikzReddit2026-01-25 22:48
Apocalypse Hotel didn't get nominated for AOTY???? noooooooo
Meloetta2026-01-25 23:01
I'm not a regular contributor to this sub or anything, but I'm pretty sure this is the highest mod effort sub on reddit
qef152026-01-25 23:03
Slice of life is ultra-stacked this year, I think the main duke out will be between Ruri Rocks, Food Court, Mono and Hibimeshi. Lycoris Recoil is good, but they are in short format, which always works against just about any anime.
Heck, it is so crowded in the slice of life category, that some even ended up in comedy. Notably Bad Girl and A Mangaka's Wonderful Workplace both also could go into slice of life.
But special shoutout to Ruri Rocks, which is the second CGDCT Studio Bind anime that gets a triple nomination. Onimai also had both slice of life and animation, though it had character design, where Ruri Rocks instead got background. What's even more surprising is that it got in as a public nominee for slice of life.
I desperately hope it will win at least a single award. The best shot it has is for both animation and slice of life, because it is honestly on par with Onimai, which itself completely dominated everything in 2023 animation-wise. Unfortunately, Ruri Rocks has a lot stronger competition.
For slice of life, it is definitely one of the best I have seen from the genre in a while, it balances perfectly between educational, strong character development and in general well-defined and believably realistic characters and still managing to push in some fanservice.
What I'm saying with this is that I want Studio Bind to become a CGDCT/slice of life studio because their two CGDCT works so far have been both sakuga heaven and outside of that, in general great slice of life anime.
UMP45isnotflat2026-01-25 23:55
Completely justified, Ruri Rocks is peak
LegendaryDarkHero2026-01-25 23:03
My personal AOTY is Re:zero s3. I have too much nostalgia to be a fair judge. but it did start the year before so... my favorite full 2025 anime is probably Ruri No houseki........... or Nukitashi
dagreenman182026-01-25 23:36
2025 was obvious a great year for Anime, but it was also a year with a shit ton of variety. They’re all great shows that are radically different from one another.
Also Demon Slayer getting left off movie? And the other choices being valid? Again, incredibly stacked year
Shimmering-Sky2026-01-26 00:31
> Also Demon Slayer getting left off movie?
Doesn't have a BD/streaming release yet, so it isn't elligible for this round of awards.
UMP45isnotflat2026-01-25 23:49
I randomly watched Ruri no Houseki because of the fanservice memes, but it absolutely blew me away. If touching grass was an anime, this would be it.
Just a very healing show to watch, so I dont care what anyone else says, its the AOTY for me.
UMP45isnotflat2026-01-25 23:53
Amazing work with the overview post, that effort was worth it!
Quckenzo2026-01-26 00:11
Im glad that they took in count Call of the night... such a good anime
EnthusiasmOnly222026-01-26 02:43
Once again the juries clearly have some interesting picks
Komorebi_LJP2026-01-26 04:21
we already saw it in previous years with Yama and the like.
Ever year there just seems to be a clique of jurors who really like their magical girl/cgdct stuff
StreetyMcCarface2026-01-26 05:44
Shoshimin S2 making an AOTY nom makes me happy. Completely slept on
bustermemesgobrrrrrr2026-01-26 09:13
Bummer neither Summer Hikaru voice actors got into the voice acting category.
Umeda Shuichiro and Kobayashi Chiaki were phenomenal. Only one dude even made it in (at least TsudaKen is undeniable).
BlitzAblaze2026-01-26 10:59
I had some choice words for some snubs (shoshimin cinematography and bg art, uma ensemble) but it all evaporated seeing that pathetic jury Aoty lineup. At least shoshimin is there but that doesn’t save this from being a 0/10 lineup, and I usually defend the Aoty juries!
Cygames can’t have an extraordinary year with THREE contenders for Aoty only for none to make it in?? I personally didn’t like hikaru but I can acknowledge without biases that it had quality and would appeal to many, which is thinking that a group of jurors can’t comprehend apparently.
I would understand if it was a weaker year and they made it in again over one or two deserving anime. OR I would also understand if the precures were extremely well received by the audience. But it was divisive even among precure fans???
There were so many interesting options that would’ve been cool to see nominated. Apocalypse hotel seemed to be liked by every jury body except aoty?? Same with hikaru, city, sorairo utility, heck even the OTHER precure.
That’s not mentioning uma, hibimeshi, ruri rocks, mono, cleavatess, milky subway, lenticulars and medalist too, heck I’d even have taken mha and I’m sure I’m missing more. But the jury as it is currently seems incapable of putting their biases aside. Shoshimin was a good save! Ave Mujica is an interesting pick. Stuff like this should be what the jury is about, not picking your favourites every year that’s not even nominated anywhere else..
Seems like most of the juries got the memo, except the most important category of them all. Great
Commentaires
You can say it’s malnutrition or whatever, but yeah it doesn’t look great
Rudo's growth is stunted, and Riyo is concerningly underweight.
It's part of the worldbuilding. No one has enough to eat unless you're a member of the upper class.
Whenever Hina isn't on screen, I ask "Where's Hina?"
Hopefully, the yuri pulls her out of depression one day
She's asking herself how she landed in Romance.
Eye-dventure?
Some of the other categories have visual themes for the thumbnails as well, see if you can spot them all!
And the AH OP is solid, dammit.
The opening is here because it represents the series well and is just a great opening. Yachiyo starts as a solo act with a slower dance and a more melancholic tone to the song. Some moves of the dance are intended for two even though she’s the only one there. It then jumps to Yachiyo being surrounded by the characters who now give her life since humanity left. It’s a lively environment now that Yachiyo has people to share it with and that encapsulates what the show is about overall. It’s a focused and simple OP conceptually with excellent execution. The slightly off kilter vocals also give it an intimate, nostalgic, old timey feel, which ties into that theme of Yachiyo being attached to the past but eventually enthusiastically embracing the future.
Overall it’s a pretty distinctive OP that ties into the series very well. Also the dance is exceptionally animated.
The OP beautifully evokes this sense of hollowness as Yachiyo performs a choreography that's clearly meant to not be done alone; Propping her arms up for a waltz as if she's supposed to be held by someone, smiling to an audience that left hundreds of years ago, and framing that emphasizes the lack of symmetry and empty space very clearly. She's dancing a group choreography by herself, with a smile that hides an existential crisis that any watcher of the show knows she slowly comes to terms with, but she ultimately finds new alien lifeforms to take the place left behind by her human colleagues and guests, as showcased by the second half of the OP.
Between a list of OP that were otherwise selected for production quality and visual flair the Apocalypse Hotel might feel like an odd one out, but the OPs ability to evoke the show's emotional themes and narrative threads really stood out and makes it memorable in a different but equally valuable way.
Also positively surprised mangaka's workplace got the nomination at least in one category.
I'm also very surprised, yet very happy, I do love it, but I never thought it would be good enough in a single category to get nominated. Especially as slice of life is just stupidly stacked.
Unfortunately it’ll probably be Dandadan or My dress up darling or smth.
Also, [Solo leveling ED 2](https://youtu.be/KxeHOxO3A3I?si=MDbarA8AwYhQQjWi) missing is a travesty, TK was incredible here
That TK song is a certified banger, though.
A little pleasantly surprised to see which entries got Public votes. Makes me think my vote might matter sometimes. *Mono* in SoL and *Mononoke* in Movie were surprising. *City* in comedy too. Maybe y'all have better taste than I give you credit for.
Overall, a pretty solid line-up looking at it. I'm sure I'll find a way to be disappointed with the results, but it can't possibly be worse than whatever CR puts up in July or August or 2027 or whenever they have their awards for 2025.
It's a collaborative effort. Each jury has the opportunity to pick out their own images and themes (if any) for the graphic.
It might even be one of the most important jobs of the jury.
[](#rinkek)
[](#thinkingtoohard)
[](#kannathumbs)
I as a drama juror was definitely surprised at the public nominations, especially after the poll. I expected Uma Musume, Silent Witch, and Orb, but Fujimoto and Bunny Girl Senpai were surprises. Bunny Girl Senpai especially was a surprise with it not even appearing on the chart as well as being from summer, which lead me to believe it wouldn’t be nominated.
Since Fetch’s poll uses a different methodology though, it isn’t *too* surprising. There’s also the fact that it’s not always the same people voting between them.
I’d say Medalist and Apocalypse Hotel have more dedicated fanbases that aren’t as large, so that’s likely why it scored highly on the poll but didn’t get a public nom.
And they also did a legit good job picking what was good,
And the other slice of life that I would also have liked to see in slice of life (Bad Girl, Mangaka's Workplace) at least got a secondary nomination in comedy.
But I will legit rage if Precure wins the jury noms, considering the quality of the rest of the nominations this year.
The last 4 episodes of the season had some of the best fights in all the anime I've seen and considering that there was basically no adventuring in the entire season I'm confused...
This anime reminds me of the wonders of wondering about the world, curiosity being a beautiful gift of humanity that even the sins cannot contain it in. Their passion for the truth gives me hope
We had so many OUTSTANDING romance anime this year, but the category is mostly filled with selections that were okay at best
It is an awesome music video though, and I'm really glad to see OFF SCRIPT getting more big-name projects like this as I've loved their youtube shorts for a long time. This detailed breakdown of part of Underdog by Howard Wimshurst was great, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8WHYWZoYFw
I agree there were a lot of fun ones this year, including ones that missed the cut so I’m wondering which ones you meant.
**Note**: The jury cannot nominate an entry if it was already among the public’s top five selections during the nomination voting phase. [The public votes on and chooses their nominees first, jury then selects their five from the remainder.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1qmqrwc/comment/o1o5qas/)
|Nominee|Total Nominations|Public Nominations|Jury Selections (after Public nomination vote)|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|[Dandadan (Season 2)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/60543/Dandadan_2nd_Season)|10|10|0|
|[The Apothecary Diaries (Season 2)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58514/Kusuriya_no_Hitorigoto_2nd_Season)|10|10|0|
|[My Dress-Up Darling (Season 2)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/53065/Sono_Bisque_Doll_wa_Koi_wo_Suru_Season_2)|9|6|3|
|[Takopi's Original Sin](https://myanimelist.net/anime/60489/Takopii_no_Genzai)|9|8|1|
|[Call of the Night (Season 2)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58390/Yofukashi_no_Uta_Season_2)|6|3|3|
|[Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc](https://myanimelist.net/anime/57555/Chainsaw_Man_Movie__Reze-hen)|6|6|0|
|[CITY the Animation](https://myanimelist.net/anime/59898/City_The_Animation)|6|4|2|
|[Orb: On the Movements of the Earth](https://myanimelist.net/anime/52215/Chi_Chikyuu_no_Undou_ni_Tsuite)|6|6|0|
|[The Summer Hikaru Died](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58913/Hikaru_ga_Shinda_Natsu)|6|3|3|
|[Apocalypse Hotel](https://myanimelist.net/anime/59675/Apocalypse_Hotel)|5|0|5|
|[Gachiakuta](https://myanimelist.net/anime/59062/Gachiakuta)|5|4|1|
|[Sorairo Utility](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58066/Sorairo_Utility_TV)|5|0|5|
Also find the things that get a handful of public *and* jury nominees to be the most fascinating, means public liked them enough to nominate them in certain spots, but not everywhere where the jury also thought they should be.
Works with a lot of jury nominations only are clearly being slept on and people should check them out
[](#mugiwait)
[](#bigthink)
Hyakkano has such an amazing wacky comedy
But Grand Blue has it's realistic comedy
If you're looking for an easy way to find all **nominees for the OP (Opening) and ED (Ending) category**, I have some playlists so you can digest them easily!
[Here is a short playlist of all OP nominees in alphabetical order by song title](https://animethemes.moe/playlist/wnL0cBqn)
[And here is the same style of playlist for all ED nominees!](https://animethemes.moe/playlist/KMvLSml2)
The entries that were closest to making the cut for the animation jury besides what was ultimately nominated were Daima (which was extremely solid, but ultimately the jury thought its appeal was quite similar to Yaiba but Yaiba just did what it does better), Gundam GQuuuuX (its character acting was highly praised for its specificity for Machu and Nyaan's scenes, but less so for the extended cast in the second half. The Mecha action was hit-and-miss too), and Visions (which has an incredible peak in Ohira's Black episode, but the rest of the anthology isn't close to that level so it was deemed to fit better as an Honorable Mention).
As for overlaps, [the public selects their nominees first. After that, the jury chooses their five nominees from the remaining pool of anime they've shortlisted.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1qmqrwc/comment/o1o5qas/)
That, plus the same jurors getting into AOTY most years with often very similar preferences, it leads to being one of the more predictable categories in that sense, which it shouldn't really be with how many shows are included in it (basically everything).
 
**Short Films:**
* **Bottled Insects:** https://youtu.be/CCbKm14_zuE?si=NFVEE7WHzyLvSEue
* **Fire Craft:** https://youtu.be/-wL0TZzcKWE?si=lbxMcrfwamfFC7G2
* **First Line:** *no link, sorry*
* **Mamiko's Poop:** https://youtu.be/nEAFgHtuOIk?si=9Onai-EIeku8FLju
* **Red Memory (Aka no Kioku):** https://youtu.be/MAsy0QkeTpw?si=SYqyRongrgcP38JN
* **Bâan: Otona no Kyoukai:** https://youtu.be/V-P3HWXGYm4?si=sZeRVgoUQ3X9OtEI
* **Fate/Grand Order - 10th Anniversary Movie:** https://youtu.be/11vAh33_2eI?si=vYi1sd9pCPpe5MVJ
* **Run Run Lantern:** https://youtu.be/1iLnz2ZuJNE?si=mHjH71QJOBzEDIZK
* **Ruri Dragon PV:** https://youtu.be/80islLpIrLs?si=IOhrSyJLSgx9TG0y
* **We're the main characters... but we didn't hear about this!:** https://youtu.be/0GWcEp67jAo?si=D7y6WyFG3iWZGiO6
 
**Music Videos:**
* **A Horny Money World:** https://youtu.be/2_opjVlYhi4?si=e7uz5ZfcOVkkgt1m
* **Daidaidaidaidaikirai:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klIxS5o65C4
* **Martian:** https://youtu.be/OLRbIc8KZ_8?si=cMMJg5zGc5aeg79D
* **Meteorgirl:** https://youtu.be/jSdeEU-LTwE?si=j_NRecI2Xv76MzOd
* **Monitoring:** https://youtu.be/kbNdx0yqbZE?si=7JyZxUvtTs1n4OvS
* **On Being:** https://youtu.be/dtTdjRB4Q4g?si=vBWXumn6XgSmIdBg
* **Sparkling Band-Aid (Kirameku Bansōkō):** https://youtu.be/rcG1sZILjfc?si=_xtN_b5xXGc1dAg3
* **Sunflower That Wants to Die:** https://youtu.be/staQ0DR6oaY?si=rI0fN3K0zJA--6H9
* **Suki-Suki Diesuki Chou AyeShiteru:** https://youtu.be/aI769CgHfLc?si=nIN02sCYca-Fdfo9
* **Watch Me!:** https://youtu.be/evtoG-4dLM4?si=NcDE8zDl3aK0KUT9
Lists like this always are difficult for me because I consider Orb to be the best show here but I also consider that to be a 2024 show, not a 2025 one. And a lot of amazing 2025 shows like Takopi, Mha, and Apothecary diaries might get passed over in celebration of a show i’ve already given its flowers to
Apothecary Diaries deserves all the awards! Love to see it.
Always bittersweet voting for your like #4 of the year.
(Even more when you know it's gonna lose vs your #35 of the year)
[](#emptyinside)
Edit: Just learned it’s based on having a full release, which is amusing because Precure will always miss out by 3-4 episodes each year, lol.
Dandadan S2 for best OST is..I dunno. It is good and popular and maybe that's enough but personally I don't find it award worthy. There's great pieces like the Kaiju theme which I adore and is a great homage to Ifukube but that was about it honestly. Of this year it was probably Ushio's weakest work, especially compared to ORB and his Chainsaw Man soundtrack which was some of his best work in years.
WHY NO ANIME OF THE YEAR. BULLSHIT
but I think at this point we can be dead certain if nothing changes, the Jury isn't going to save, say, Journal With Witch. it'll just be You and Idol Precure, even if the reception to it was lukewarm. when that happens I will be here to shake my head and stare at the little clique with the utmost contempt. you know who you are, and you're not funny or cool.
I will laugh. Oh my word, will I laugh.
Heck, it is so crowded in the slice of life category, that some even ended up in comedy. Notably Bad Girl and A Mangaka's Wonderful Workplace both also could go into slice of life.
But special shoutout to Ruri Rocks, which is the second CGDCT Studio Bind anime that gets a triple nomination. Onimai also had both slice of life and animation, though it had character design, where Ruri Rocks instead got background. What's even more surprising is that it got in as a public nominee for slice of life.
I desperately hope it will win at least a single award. The best shot it has is for both animation and slice of life, because it is honestly on par with Onimai, which itself completely dominated everything in 2023 animation-wise. Unfortunately, Ruri Rocks has a lot stronger competition.
For slice of life, it is definitely one of the best I have seen from the genre in a while, it balances perfectly between educational, strong character development and in general well-defined and believably realistic characters and still managing to push in some fanservice.
What I'm saying with this is that I want Studio Bind to become a CGDCT/slice of life studio because their two CGDCT works so far have been both sakuga heaven and outside of that, in general great slice of life anime.
Also Demon Slayer getting left off movie? And the other choices being valid? Again, incredibly stacked year
Doesn't have a BD/streaming release yet, so it isn't elligible for this round of awards.
Just a very healing show to watch, so I dont care what anyone else says, its the AOTY for me.
Ever year there just seems to be a clique of jurors who really like their magical girl/cgdct stuff
Umeda Shuichiro and Kobayashi Chiaki were phenomenal. Only one dude even made it in (at least TsudaKen is undeniable).
Cygames can’t have an extraordinary year with THREE contenders for Aoty only for none to make it in?? I personally didn’t like hikaru but I can acknowledge without biases that it had quality and would appeal to many, which is thinking that a group of jurors can’t comprehend apparently.
I would understand if it was a weaker year and they made it in again over one or two deserving anime. OR I would also understand if the precures were extremely well received by the audience. But it was divisive even among precure fans???
There were so many interesting options that would’ve been cool to see nominated. Apocalypse hotel seemed to be liked by every jury body except aoty?? Same with hikaru, city, sorairo utility, heck even the OTHER precure.
That’s not mentioning uma, hibimeshi, ruri rocks, mono, cleavatess, milky subway, lenticulars and medalist too, heck I’d even have taken mha and I’m sure I’m missing more. But the jury as it is currently seems incapable of putting their biases aside. Shoshimin was a good save! Ave Mujica is an interesting pick. Stuff like this should be what the jury is about, not picking your favourites every year that’s not even nominated anywhere else..
Seems like most of the juries got the memo, except the most important category of them all. Great