The Shocking Truth Behind Solo Leveling’s Anime of the Year Win Revealed!

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2025 saw the Crunchyroll Anime Awards unfold on May 25th, honoring an impressive collection of anime aired between October 2023 and December 2024. The diverse lineup showcased numerous titles, each category spotlighting different aspects that make anime outstanding. Although fans were eager to learn the winners, the “Anime of the Year” category drew particular attention as it seeks to identify the cream of the crop from this specific timeframe. The nominees in this category were remarkably strong, but the unexpected victor was Solo Leveling.

Instead of relying on internal panels to decide winners like most prestigious award ceremonies, Crunchyroll’s event enables fans to cast their votes. This democratic process, while appealing, can sometimes transform the awards into popularity contests instead of a fair evaluation based on the criteria of each category. The victory of Solo Leveling highlights this trend. Although Solo Leveling had an exciting and original premiere, it didn’t set significant records during its first season. It was actually the second season that accomplished notable achievements, hinting that fans might have voted based on the most recent installment rather than considering the entire eligible season. Given the timing of the voting, it’s plausible that this is indeed the case.

[RELATED: Solo Leveling Star Shares Thoughts on His First Ever Award]

Solo Leveling Won Anime of the Year Prize Thanks to Season 2

The Crunchyroll Awards for 2025 were held on May 25th, later than their typical timeline. Voting for nominees commenced on April 3rd, only a few days after the wrap-up of Solo Leveling‘s Season 2. Given the numerous records this season shattered, it’s evident that when fans voted in categories involving Solo Leveling, they were swayed by the influence of the most recent season, despite the awards being intended to assess Season 1. This observation doesn’t undermine the exceptional quality of Season 2, but it’s important to note that the voting was primarily based on the debut season’s quality, which had significantly less buzz surrounding it compared to the second season.

It’s clear that the excitement for Season 2 significantly contributed to Solo Leveling sweeping nine out of the 13 categories it was nominated for. Given that it won awards like “Best Main Character” and “Best Voice Actor Performance” in three different languages, it’s hard not to see the debut season as award-winning. This strongly indicates that Solo Leveling enjoyed global popularity, making the event more of a popularity contest, where it would have excelled had there been an official “Popularity” category. If Season 2 hadn’t premiered so close to the awards, it’s likely that Dandadan, the next most popular contender, would have taken the win. However, unlike Solo Leveling, Dandadan delivered in all areas and deservedly earned the title of “Anime of the Year.” This is without considering other highly-rated shows from last year, such as Frieren and Netflix’s hit series, Delicious in Dungeon.

It’s advantageous for fans of the series “Solo Leveling” that it won the award this time around because Season 2 has created quite a buzz, and since there won’t be Season 3 until next year, the excitement might dwindle, and the show may not get another chance like this. On the other hand, it’s clear that the anime that garners the most popularity just before the awards next year will likely take the prize, highlighting potential issues with Crunchyroll’s award system.

Solo Leveling is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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2025-05-30 02:10