Animation
Crunchyroll’s 2025 anime awards go Global with big names and bold nominations
MUMBAI: Crunchyroll, has announced the nominees for the highly anticipated 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, the ninth annual edition of the world’s biggest celebration of Japanese animation. Fans across the globe can cast their votes daily through April 14 via the official Anime Awards website, helping decide this year’s winners across a broad spectrum of categories.
This year’s Anime of the Year contenders include Dan Da Dan, Delicious in Dungeon, Frieren, Beyond Journey’s End, Kaiju No. 8, Solo Leveling, and The Apothecary Diaries.
Adding star power to the celebration, Crunchyroll has also revealed the first wave of celebrity presenters set to appear at the live event in Tokyo on Sunday, May 25. Among the first announced Stranger Things stars Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo, joined by international talents such as Damiano David (Måneskin), Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, Japanese pop culture stars, Vtubers, drag icons, and Youtubers like Gigguk.
Additional confirmed presenters include,
The star-studded presenter line-up for the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards features an exciting mix of global talent, including Japanese comedy duo Chocolate Planet, renowned actor and musician Dean Fujioka, and popular Japanese actors Kanata Hongo, Mayu Matsuoka, and Saya Ichikawa. Joining them are international stars such as Brazilian pop icon Pabllo Vittar, English professional boxer Ben Whittaker, Vtuber sensation Ironmouse, American singer-songwriter d4vd, British-Japanese artist Rina Sawayama, globally recognised drag star Plastique Tiara, and American-Chilean singer Paloma Mami.
Sony group corporation president & CEO Hiroki Totoki will deliver the opening remarks at the live ceremony, hosted by voice actress Sally Amaki and popular entertainer Jon Kabira.
“The Crunchyroll Anime Awards are one of the most important times of year for fans because we hear directly from them on what anime they love and get to honour the creative community behind that love,” said Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini.
“Anime continues to deeply resonate emotionally with fans, and anime’s biggest night of the year is sure to invoke a lot of joy and pride amongst the anime community fans and creators alike. This year’s nominees represent more than 50 series and films developed by more than 35 talented studios.”
To celebrate the awards, a selection of nominated titles is now available to stream for free on Crunchyroll. The Crunchyroll Store is also offering special discounts on related manga, merchandise, and collectibles.
New this year, fans can cast votes directly via the Crunchyroll mobile app, with a convenient 1-click resubmit option. Voting closes on April 14 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time, and winners will be announced during the live ceremony and global livestream.
The full list of nominees includes favourites across action, drama, romance, isekai, animation, character design, and performance categories, including several nods to Dan Da Dan, Solo Leveling, and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. Voice artist categories span multiple languages, including Japanese, English, Hindi, Arabic, French, and more highlighting anime’s truly global impact.
The 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards will be held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo, in collaboration with Sony Music Solutions Inc. and Dempsey Productions.
MUMBAI: History is getting a fresh rewrite this time with code, creativity and a longer arc in mind. Lens Vault Studios has announced its first original production, Bal Tanhaji, marking the official entry of the newly launched, tech-driven studio into India’s evolving entertainment landscape.
Arriving six years after the box-office success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the new project expands the universe rather than revisiting familiar ground. Bal Tanhaji explores uncharted narrative territory, signalling a clear shift from one-off cinematic spectacles to long-format, world-building storytelling designed for digital-first audiences.
At the heart of this ambition is Prismix Studios, the in-house generative AI and technology arm powering the creative engine behind the show. The studio’s approach blends storytelling with next-generation tools, aiming to reimagine how Indian IPs are created, scaled and sustained beyond theatrical releases.
For Lens Vault Studios chairman Ajay Devgn the new venture represents a deliberate step beyond traditional cinema. The focus is firmly on building long-form intellectual properties across fiction and non-fiction, tailored to changing viewing habits and platform-led consumption. He said the studio intends to explore formats that remain largely untapped, while drawing on the team’s experience with large-scale cinematic storytelling.
Lens Vault Studios founder and CEO Danish Devgn echoed that sentiment, describing Bal Tanhaji as the studio’s first generative-AI-led IP and the starting point of a broader vision. The aim, he noted, is to carry forward the legacy of the Tanhaji universe while connecting with younger audiences through a blend of powerful narratives and emerging technologies.
With Bal Tanhaji, Lens Vault Studios is planting its flag early not just launching a show, but signalling a larger play for cinematic universes that live, grow and evolve across platforms. If this debut is any indication, the future of Indian storytelling may be as much about imagination as it is about innovation.
