The $30 million prize at stake

The Crunchyroll Anime Awards have become one of the biggest anime awards in the world, and it's easy to see why. Not only does it play off Crunchyroll's reputation as the biggest anime streaming service around, but it's also the only notable award show for anime outside of Asia, so as controversial as the awards may be, they still serve as a great means of giving anime recognition year after year.

According to the source, the Crunchyroll Anime Awards are always great for putting anime in the spotlight, and nowhere is that more apparent than with their signature Anime of the Year category. as the title would imply , any anime that wins Anime of the Year is always among the best anime a person can watch in its debut year and beyond, and with Crunchyroll having just completed its tenth award show, there are plenty of Anime of the Year winners for old and new fans alike to enjoy at their leisure.

Why 4,000 usnold units became the prize

10 Solo Leveling Season 1 (2023/2024) A-1 Pictures' Solo Leveling is easily the most controversial Anime of the Year winner, and it's easy to see why. 2024 was filled with amazing new anime like Dandadan, Delicious in Dungeon, and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End that all pushed the visual and narrative boundaries of what anime was capable of, yet the prize still went to a generic action story that hardly pushed the mold, and people are still upset about it a year after the fact.

According to the report, Solo Leveling's gorgeous animation and incredible direction and fight choreography make it one of the best anime to watch when you're just looking for a lot of spectacle and over-the-top action. In that regard, it makes sense why Solo Leveling became so popular, and hopefully, Solo Leveling season 3 will become a reality.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

9 Made In Abyss (2017) Kinema Citrus Made in Abyss is another Anime of the Year winner that might be controversial to some. Despite many of the characters being children, the series regularly engages in gore and fanservice, and while things like that can always be uncomfortable , seeing such young people subjected to it on a weekly basis can be especially off-putting, and it's been a major source of criticism for years now.

According to the report, while the fanservicce is hard to excuse, the gore is mostly an extension of Made in Abyss' dark and thorough storytelling,and when combined with its stunning artwork and worldbuilding, the result is a fantastic adventure series unlike any other. Made in Abyss more than deserved its win, and fortunately, there's plenty more of the series left for fans to enjoy.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

8 Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1, Part 1 (2020) Five years after its premiere, there's little else that can be said about MAPPA's Jujutsu Kaisen. Between its fun characters, gorgeous animation, and dark storytelling, Jujutsu Kaisen is an action series unlike any other, and it's easy to see how it's become a global phenomenon with no signs of slowing down.

According to the report, what's especially noteworthy about Jujutsu Kaisen's first Anime of the Year win is that it was arguably for the weakest part of the series; not only had the narrative not shown its full depth in season 1, but the animation, as gorgeous as it was, was incredibly basic compared to the visual masterpiece of the later seasons. It says a lot that even Jujutsu Kaisen's weakest content was still amazing, and it's only gotten better with time.

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

7 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Season 1 (2019) Most people didn't expect much from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, even with the legendary Ufotable at the helm, but the finished product more than exceeded expectations. Not only did it feature some of Ufotable's best animation and direction to date, but it was all in service of enhancing a surprisingly emotional and charming story, and from start to finish, it didn't disappoint in the slightest.

According to the report, the series follows a young charcoal seller whose family is slaughtered by a demon. Only his sister Nezuko survives - turned into a demon herself. What is the protagonist's full family name?