iWorld
Crunchyroll Anime Awards break records with 34 mn fan votes
Mumbai: The Crunchyroll Anime Awards is the leading yearly awards program celebrating fan-favorite anime series, characters, and creators across streaming, film, and music. Global anime fans cast more than 34 million votes this year (up from 18 million votes last year). Tune in to see a star-studded slate of global celebrity presenters along with exclusive performances celebrating fan-favorite and beloved anime series.
Pre-show and live ceremony presenters (in alphabetical order):
1 Aquaria – American fashion model, drag entertainer, and international DJ who was crowned the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10. A passionate advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and a long-time anime enthusiast
2 Che Lingo – British rapper and artist who regularly mixes genres within his music
3 Chiaki Kuriyama – Actress, singer, and model
4 DeMarcus Lawrence – NFL Football player from the Dallas Cowboys
5 Emiru – Professional streamer, variety player, cosplayer, and co-host of Steak & Eggs
6 Iman Vellani – Award-winning actress (MS. MARVEL and THE MARVELS)
7 Joaquim Dos Santos – Director, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
8 Labrinth – GRAMMY-nominated Songwriter, Producer, and Recording Artist
9 Lena Lemon – Content creator focused on anime, cosplay, and gaming
10 LiSA – Japanese singer-songwriter who has performed hit anime theme songs
11 Liza Soberano – Actress, advocate, and entrepreneur
12 Megan Thee Stallion – Three-time GRAMMY-winning recording artist, philanthropist and entrepreneur
13 Mercedes Varnado – WWE World Champion, actress, and entrepreneur
14 Nava Rose – Fashion Creator
15 Phil Lord & Chris Miller – Academy Award-winning duo behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
16 Porter Robinson – GRAMMY-nominated musician
17 Rashmika Mandanna – Indian film actor
18 Roland – Japanese night club host, entrepreneur, and TV personality
19 So Takei – Japanese TV personality, comedian, actor, and former Japanese decathlon champion
20 Vinnie Hacker – Model, pro gamer, actor, and digital creator
21 Yaeji – Artist, producer, vocalist, and DJ whose introspective, dance floor-ready tracks have made her a global icon
22 Ylona Garcia – Singer born in the Philippines, raised in Australia
Musical Performances by:
1 Hiroyuki SAWANO (Attack on Titan; Solo Leveling) & KOHTA YAMAMOTO (Attack on Titan; The Seven Deadly Sins), performing the first-of-its-kind Anime Awards Theme Song in full for the first time
2 Shing02, OMA, and SPIN MASTER A-1, performing Samurai Champloo’s opening song “battlecry” in commemoration of the show’s 20th anniversary – exclusive to livestream viewers
3 Japanese pop duo YOASOBI, performing ahead of their set at Coachella
4 Live orchestra, performing a unique live piece bringing together iconic songs from various series celebrating milestones
Categories:
1 Anime of the Year – This is the show that sets the standard for anime over the last year. Its compelling story, beautiful artistic execution, and unforgettable characters all combine in a unique way to create a masterpiece that deserves singular recognition. Whether the show was an unexpected hit, or delivered on fans’ high expectations, Anime of the Year embodies excellence.
2 Best Action – This category rewards a show with action at its core. Featuring awe-inspiring scenes of heroes battling villains, life-threatening situations, or overcoming incredible odds, these anime get the pulse racing.
3 Best Animation – Here we recognize anime that are visually stunning in the ways they bring their stories to life. No matter the style of animation, these shows put on a visual spectacle for viewers to enjoy, immersing audiences into previously unimaginable worlds.
4 Best Anime Song – This category celebrates a song played during any part of an anime series, including the opening and ending sequences. Whether they make you move or move you, these are the songs that stay with you.
5 Best Art Direction (New) – Art direction involves all things visual to create the look and feel of an anime. Color, design, and animation style are only some of the considerations, as the tiniest of details must be kept in mind so that a show feels like a cohesive and distinct work of art.
6 Best Character Design – This category celebrates artists who have either created iconic anime characters or breathed life into one from other sources. A designer who comprehends the essence of character design weaves narratives through the strokes of their drawings.
7 Best Cinematography (New) – Cinematography focuses on the composition of individual scenes, paying particular attention to the use of light and shadow, camera angles, depth of field, and scene transitions. When combined together, these elements convey an anime’s narrative without saying a word.
8 Best Comedy – Whether it’s a surprising fresh perspective, or the witty exchanges could’ve come from a comedy mastermind, the humor in these shows make you laugh out loud and have your side hurting by the end.
9 Best Continuing Series – Sustaining excellence is no small feat, particularly when it comes to anime. This category celebrates the shows that hook audiences with their absorbing storylines, compelling characters, and attention-grabbing artwork.
10 Best Director – Here we celebrate how a great anime and a great director are almost inseparable. Of central importance, directors work behind the scenes, conveying their vision to animators, making critical decisions, and managing the creative aspects of production. The result? An approach that is uniquely theirs.
11 Best Drama – These anime convey something essential about the human experience. Their mastery of building and relieving tension sets fans on the edge of their seats, feeling all their feelings, and compelling them to invest deeply in the characters and their stories.
12 Best Ending Sequence – Similar to the opening, an unforgettable ending sequence pairs design and music to delight and surprise. Often a place where the art style can be taken in entirely new directions, a great ending sequence lets viewers catch their breath and enjoy small moments with a character.
13 Best Fantasy – Best Fantasy is all about imagination, creativity, and a bit of magic. These shows don’t just take us to other worlds, they craft deep, original universes full of mythical creatures where even the smallest detail is fueled by ideas that previously were unthought of.
14 Best Film – A great film effortlessly captivates spectators from beginning to end. Here we celebrate non-episodic anime with runtimes longer than a standard episode, whether they were released in theaters, on DVD, or online.
15 Best Main Character – Whether hero, anti-hero, or villain, a main character is the face of their series. But it’s not just their personalities or characteristics that make them beloved, it’s their well-developed stories and the journeys they take us on that make them worthy.
16 Best New Series – While countless new anime are created each year, this category honors the series and spin-offs that stand out. These instant classics possess something unique that keeps viewers transfixed and passionately awaiting season two.
17 Best Opening Sequence – Through striking visuals and irresistible music, a great opening sequence sets the tone for what’s to come. Whether it’s creating a quirky mood for an offbeat rom-com, or striking a dark and serious tone for suspense, a memorable opening has as much creativity and passion as the show it introduces.
18 Best Original Anime – An original anime is not adapted from source material like manga or light novels; it is a new creation. These original works of art mesmerize audiences with the quality of their stories.
19 Best Romance – A great romance can thaw the heart of the coldest cynic. These captivating stories draw us in and remind us of the best part of being alive. With their hopeful messages, these shows find a way to make you believe in the power of love.
20 Best Score – A vital part of an unforgettable anime is the original music composed for it. A well-crafted score adds another dimension of depth and emotion to any scene, with compositions that are not only tightly associated with an anime, but can also stand alone as masterpieces of music.
21 Best Slice of Life (New) – While these anime focus on everyday events, the best are anything but ordinary. Capturing quiet moments in breathtaking ways, these nominees provide relief from the frantic pace of the world, placing relationships—with all their emotion, humor, and heartbreak—front and center.
22 Best Supporting Character – This category celebrates a supporting character like they were number one. They come in all shapes and sizes, but the best among them can shine as brightly as their main character counterparts when called upon.
23 Best Voice Actor Performance – Renowned voice artists breathe additional life into a character, adding depth and realism or re-envisioning what they sound like in a different language . Through their command of tone and the emotions their voices elicit, these talented artists help transform anime characters into anime icons. This award will be honored to voice actors across Arabic, Castilian, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Latin Spanish.
24 “Must Protect At All Cost” Character – These are the characters that make the world feel like a kinder, more special place. Whether they’re an earnest protagonist who always gets back up or a pure-hearted cinnamon roll who holds a group together, these characters remind us that there are some things in life worth protecting.
When: Saturday, 2 March 2024 at 6 pm JST
Where: Crunchyroll channels on YouTube and Twitch
eNews
How short, addictive story videos quietly colonised the Indian smartphone
A landmark Meta-Ormax study of 2,000 viewers reveals a format that is growing fast, paying slowly and consumed almost entirely in secret
CALIFORNIA, MUMBAI: India has a new entertainment habit, and it arrived without anyone really noticing. Micro dramas, those short, cliffhanger-driven episodic stories built for the smartphone screen, have quietly embedded themselves into the daily routines of millions of Indians, discovered not by design but by algorithmic accident, watched not in living rooms but in bedrooms, on commutes and in the five minutes before sleep.
That, in essence, is the finding of a sweeping new audience study released by Meta and media insights firm Ormax Media at Meta’s inaugural Marketing Summit: Micro-Drama Edition. Titled “Micro Dramas: The India Story” and based on 2,000 personal interviews and 50 depth interviews conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 across 14 states, it is the most comprehensive study of the category in India to date, and its findings are striking.
Sixty-five per cent of viewers discovered micro dramas within the last year. Of those, 89 per cent stumbled upon the format through social media feeds, primarily Instagram and Facebook, without ever searching for it. The algorithm did the heavy lifting. Discovery, as the report puts it bluntly, is algorithm-led, not intent-led.
The typical viewer journey begins with accidental exposure while scrolling, moves through a cliffhanger-driven incompletion hook that makes stopping feel unfinished, and is reinforced by algorithmic repetition until habitual consumption sets in. Only then, when a platform asks for an app download or a payment, does the viewer pause. Trust, not content quality, determines what happens next, and many simply return to the free feed rather than pay. It is a funnel with a wide mouth and a narrow neck.
The numbers on consumption tell their own story. Viewers spend a median of 3.5 hours per week watching micro dramas, spread across seven to eight sessions of roughly 30 minutes each, peaking sharply between 8pm and midnight. Daytime viewing is snackable and low-commitment, squeezed into morning commutes, work breaks and coffee pauses. Night-time is where the format truly lives: private, uninterrupted and, for many viewers, socially invisible. Ninety per cent watch alone, compared to just 43 per cent for long-form OTT content. Half the audience watches during their commute, well above the 37 per cent figure for streaming platforms, a direct reflection of the format’s low time investment advantage.
The audience itself breaks into three segments. Incidental viewers, comprising 39 per cent of the total, are passive consumers who stumble in and rarely seek content actively. Intent-building viewers, the largest group at 43 per cent, are beginning to form habits and seek out episodes but remain cautious. High-intent viewers, just 18 per cent, are the ones who download apps, tolerate ads and occasionally pay: skewing male, younger and urban.
What audiences want from the content is revealing. The top three genres are romance at 72 per cent, family drama at 64 per cent and comedy at 63 per cent, precisely the same top three as Hindi general entertainment television. The format rewards emotional familiarity over complexity. Romance in particular thrives because it demands low cognitive investment, needs no elaborate world-building and plays naturally into the private, pre-sleep viewing window where inhibitions lower and emotional intimacy feels safe.
The most-recalled shows, led by Kuku TV titles such as The Lady Boss Returns, The Billionaire Husband and Kiss My Luck, share a common narrative DNA: rich-poor conflict, hidden identities, power imbalances, melodrama and cliffhangers that make stopping feel physically uncomfortable. Predictability, the research warns, is fatal. Each episode must re-earn attention from scratch.
The terminology question is telling. Despite the industry’s embrace of the phrase “micro drama,” viewers have not adopted it. They call the content “short story videos,” “short dramas,” “reels with stories” or simply “serials.” One respondent from Chennai said bluntly that “micro sounds like a scientific word.” The category is at the stage that OTT occupied in 2019 and podcasts in the same year: widely consumed, poorly named and not yet crystallised in the public imagination.
Platform awareness remains alarmingly thin. Only three platforms, Kuku TV at 78 per cent, Story TV at 46 per cent and Quick TV at 28 per cent, have crossed the 20 per cent awareness threshold. The rest languish in single digits. This creates a trust deficit that directly throttles monetisation: viewers who cannot remember which app they used are hardly primed to enter their payment details.
Yet the appetite is clearly there. Sixty-five per cent of viewers watch only Indian content, drawn by the TV-serial familiarity of the storytelling, the comfort of Hindi as a shared language and the sight of actors they half-recognise from decades of television. South languages are rising fast: Tamil, Telugu and Kannada together account for 24 per cent of first-choice viewing. And AI-generated content, still a novelty, has landed better than expected: 47 per cent of viewers call it creative and unique, with only 6 per cent actively rejecting it.
Shweta Bajpai, director, media and entertainment (India) at Meta, called micro drama “a category that is rewriting the rules of Indian entertainment,” adding that the discovery engine being social distinguishes this wave from previous content formats. Shailesh Kapoor, founder and chief executive of Ormax Media, was characteristically measured: the format, he said, is showing “the early signs of becoming a distinct content category” and, given how closely it aligns with natural mobile behaviour, “has the potential to scale very quickly.”
The format’s fundamental mechanics are working. It enters lives quietly, through boredom and a scrolling thumb, and burrows in through incompletion and habit. The challenge now is monetisation: converting a category of highly engaged but deeply anonymous viewers into paying customers who trust the platform enough to hand over their UPI credentials. The story, as any micro-drama writer knows, is only as good as the next cliffhanger. India’s platforms had better have one ready.
