The popular anime-streaming service, Crunchyroll, held their fifth annual Anime Awards virtually in February 2021. Some of the categories included Anime of the Year, Best Protagonist, Best Animation, Best Director, and other awards in genres of anime, such as comedy and drama. The Japanese animation studio MAPPA’s anime Jujutsu Kaisen won Anime of the Year, Best Antagonist for its character, Ryomen Sukuna, and Best Ending Sequence.

     Jujutsu Kaisen is an anime adaptation from the original manga series written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. The story follows high schooler Yuuji Itadori as he joins the battle between supernatural monsters, called “Curses,” and the Jujutsu sorcerers who work to stop them. The award-winning villain, Ryomen Sukuna, is known as “the King of Curses” in the anime. Based on the two-faced demon of the same name in Japanese mythology, he is quick-witted and extremely powerful. The anime premiered in October 2020 and since then has gained much traction in the anime community.

     Taking both Best Director and Best Animation, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! from the studio Science SARU was another winner in the Anime Awards. This was also an anime adaptation, and it was from Sumito Owara’s manga series of the same title, which tells the tale of three high school girls who try to create their own anime. It was directed by Masaaki Yuasa and reflects on the process of creating an anime to deepen an appreciation for the anime industry itself. Thus, it has been said to be a love letter to animation and imagination.

     Re:ZERO – Starting Life in Another World – (Season 2) won Best Fantasy and Best Japanese Voice Acting Performance from Yusuke Kobayashi’s portrayal of the character Natsuki Subaru, the main protagonist. This anime adaptation based on the light novel series by Tappei Nagatsuki follows Subaru as he finds himself transported to a new fantasy world after living a normal life as a teenage gamer. The anime has both classic and new fantastical elements, such as witches, elves, and “Return by Death” — Subaru’s ability to resurrect to a certain “save point” every time he dies. Whether a third season will be released has yet to be announced.

     Other winners included the anime My Hero Academia Season 4, adapted from Kohei Horikoshi’s superhero manga series of the same name, which received the awards for Best Fight Scene and Best English Voice Acting Performance from Zeno Robinson’s portrayal of the character Hawks. Kaguya-sama: Love is War? won both Best Comedy and Best Girl for the character Kaguya Shinomiya. The complete list of winners, along with the numerous nominations for each award, can be found on the Crunchyroll website at http://crunchyroll.com