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Crunchyroll Awards Changes Up Categories for 2023

Disclosure: The writer of this article is also a judge for the Anime Awards.

Crunchyroll announced the categories for its 2023 Anime Awards on Thursday with a few change-ups from last year's awards ceremony. The streaming company also revealed that some winners will be announced during the presentation in Japan on March 4, and others will be announced during its global live stream.

The following categories are new this year:

• Best Anime Song
• Best Continuing Series
• Best Original Anime
• Presenter's Choice
• Special Achievement Award
• “Must Protect At All Cost” Character
• Best Main Character
• Best New Series
• Best Supporting Character

Additionally, "Best Voice Actor Performance" will include awards for Arabic, Castilian, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish performances. Previous iterations didn't include Arabic and Italian but did include Russian. The Awards have nixed the categories "Best Girl," "Best Boy," "Best Antagonist," and "Best Fight Scene."

The awards ceremony will announce the winners of Anime of the Year, Best Animation, Best Anime Song, Best Character Design, Best Comedy, Best Continuing Series, Best Director, Best Fantasy, Best Film, Best Original Anime, Best Romance, Best Score, Presenter's Choice, and the Special Achievement Award. The Presenter's Choice Award will allow a "special guest" to present an award to an "honored contributor" of their choice. The recipient could be a person, studio, or company acknowledged for various reasons, including overcoming a major professional hurdle, a milestone, or congratulating them for inspirational contributions.

The Special Achievement Award is determined by an industry panel selected by the Crunchyroll team. It is meant to denote "legendary status" to its recipient based on their contributions to the anime industry.

The global live stream will announce additional winners for the following categories

• “Must Protect At All Cost” Character
• Best Action
• Best Drama
• Best Ending Sequence
• Best Main Character
• Best New Series
• Best Opening Sequence
• Best Supporting Character
• Best Voice Actor Performance

Voting will open for the seventh annual Anime Awards on January 19, 2023, and close on January 26. Nominees are selected by the Anime Awards judging panel. The program will take place in Japan for the first time at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa's Hiten Main Banquet Hall in Tokyo on March 4, 2023, with hosts Sally Amaki and Jon Kabira.

The Fall 2022 anime season will not be eligible for this year's awards and will instead be a part of the 2024 awards. The 2023 Crunchyroll Anime Awards FAQ notes that for a series to be eligible this year, "one episode aired on television or online in Japan between November 2021 and September 2022, at least in part. This means that shows which aired during Fall 2022 are not eligible for this year's show." However, two-cour Fall 2021 series are eligible for the 2023 awards after also appearing in the 2022 awards. This includes series like Ranking of Kings, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon - The Second Act, 86 EIGHTY-SIX Season 2, Waccha PriMagi!, and Platinum End.

The award ceremony will be distributed on Crunchyroll's social media channels and feature "famous creators and musicians."

Sony Music Solutions Inc. is collaborating with Crunchyroll to both plan and support the program's operational needs.

According to Crunchyroll, the Anime Awards received 16.9 million votes from fans in 2021.

Last year crowned Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 1 as Anime of the Year, and the winners were announced via Crunchyroll's social media platforms. Previous years included a mix of a live-streaming program and, before the COVID-19 pandemic, an in-person award ceremony.

Update (12/09): Added eligibility information.
Source: Press release