Solo Leveling Named Anime of the Year at the 2025 Crunchyroll Awards

Summary:

• Crunchyroll hosted the 2025 Anime Awards in Tokyo over the weekend.
• ‘Solo Leveling’ secured the title of Anime of the Year, alongside numerous other awards.
• ‘Attack on Titan’ was honored with the inaugural Global Impact Award, celebrated through live performances.

This past weekend, Crunchyroll's 2025 Anime Awards showcased the global impact of anime, drawing in an astounding 51 million fan votes and featuring star-studded presentations from Kacey Musgraves, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, and J Balvin. The coveted title of Anime of the Year was awarded to ‘Solo Leveling,’ highlighting its immense popularity. The series also triumphed in several categories, including Best New Series, Best Action, Best Main Character, Best Score, and Best Ending Sequence.

In a remarkable showing, ‘Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End’ clinched awards for Best Drama, Best Director, and Best Background Art, solidifying its reputation among critics and industry professionals. Although ‘DAN DA DAN’ fell short in the top categories, it still garnered accolades for Best Character Design, Best Opening Sequence, and Best Anime Song. Additionally, ‘Attack on Titan: THE LAST ATTACK’ received the first-ever Global Impact Award, celebrating its significant influence on anime culture and storytelling.

Fans were treated to exhilarating performances, including Creepy Nuts, who performed “B’ling-Bang-Bang-Born” from ‘Mashle: Magic and Muscles,’ and FLOW, who honored the 20th anniversary of ‘Eureka Seven’ with their hit “DAYS.” Renowned artist LiSA also graced the stage, delivering a selection of her celebrated tracks, including the iconic “gurenge” from ‘Demon Slayer.’ The event, held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa, underscored anime's growing prominence in mainstream entertainment, with Sony Music Solutions Inc. and Dempsey Productions collaborating with Crunchyroll to bring this celebration to life.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

• Anime of the Year: Solo Leveling
• Film of the Year: Look Back
• Best Original Anime: Ninja Kamui
• Best Continuing Series: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc
• Best New Series: Solo Leveling
• Best Opening Sequence: “Otonoke” – Creepy Nuts – DAN DA DAN
• Best Ending Sequence: “request” – krage – Solo Leveling
• Best Action: Solo Leveling
• Best Comedy: MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc
• Best Drama: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
• Best Isekai Anime: Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World Season 3
• Best Romance: Blue Box
• Best Slice of Life: Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!
• Best Animation: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc
• Best Background Art: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
• Best Character Design: DAN DA DAN
• Best Director: Keiichiro Saito – Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
• Best Main Character: Sung Jinwoo – Solo Leveling
• Best Supporting Character: Fern – Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
• “Must Protect At All Cost” Character: Anya Forger – SPY × FAMILY Season 2
• Best Anime Song: “Otonoke” – Creepy Nuts – DAN DA DAN
• Best Score: Solo Leveling – Hiroyuki Sawano
• Best Japanese Voice Artist Performance: Aoi Yuki (Maomao) – The Apothecary Diaries
• Best English Voice Artist Performance: Aleks Le (Sung Jinwoo) – Solo Leveling
• Best Arabic Voice Artist Performance: Hiba Snobar (Anya Forger) – SPY × FAMILY Season 2
• Best Brazilian Portuguese Voice Artist Performance: Charles Emmanuel (Sung Jinwoo) – Solo Leveling
• Best Castilian Spanish Voice Artist Performance: Masumi Mutsuda (Sung Jinwoo) – Solo Leveling
• Best French Voice Artist Performance: Adrien Antoine (Kafka Hibino) – Kaiju No. 8
• Best German Voice Artist Performance: Daniel Schlauch (Monkey D. Luffy) – ONE PIECE
• Best Hindi Voice Artist Performance: Lohit Sharma (Satoru Gojo) – Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
• Best Italian Voice Artist Performance: Ilaria Pellicone (Kyomoto) – Look Back
• Best Latin Spanish Voice Artist Performance: Miguel Ángel Leal (Eren Jaeger) – Attack on Titan Final Season THE FINAL CHAPTERS Special 2

Solo Leveling - Episode 1 Season 1 Reviews

The long-awaited anime adaptation of the highly anticipated manhwa has finally arrived. The original anime scene at the beginning was truly impressive, showcasing remarkable art and animation. While it's challenging to match the artistry of the source material, A1 Pictures put forth their best effort, demonstrating a great deal of dedication with their top-tier team. The soundtrack was outstanding, with Sawano delivering a phenomenal performance. An added bonus was the decision to retain the Korean names without any apparent censorship concerns. While some viewers suggested a one-hour premiere would have been more beneficial, the episode we received exceeded expectations. The anime stands out in its effective introduction and development of all characters, providing a clear understanding even for those unfamiliar with Solo Leveling.

For those who have read it, witnessing the characters' starting points is a truly enjoyable experience. Although the animation had its humorous moments, it served its purpose well. Criticisms about it can be dismissed by choosing to read the source material instead. There is a sense of disappointment regarding the episode's conclusion, feeling that the sequencing and pacing were off. While attempts were made to enhance world-building and character development, some believe the initial episode should have focused more on drawing in the audience with action. The inclusion of the Jeju flashback was appreciated, but the execution of the episode's structure could have been more suspenseful and attention-grabbing if it had closely followed the first chapters. Suggesting that additional character snippets could have been seamlessly incorporated after the Dungeon sequence during the hospital scenes, some argue it would have achieved the same exposition goals in a more satisfying and logical manner. Despite these concerns, many viewers are pleased with the absence of CGI and commend the show for expanding the world. The primary worry lies in how the pacing will be managed throughout the two cours, especially given the ambitious episode count for the first season and the rapid coverage of multiple chapters in a single episode.

Korean Anime ‘Solo Leveling Season 2’: Release Date, Cast & Everything You Need To Know

Solo Leveling is a Korean Anime that took its base from a web novel, Na Honjaman Level-up. Chu-Gong penned this novel which means ‘I alone level up.’ The story revolves around a portal connecting our world to a world full of monsters and creatures of all kinds. However, some hunters gain the ability to hunt them. Sung Jin-Woo is the protagonist of the story.He is the weakest of the rank E hunters and barely more potent than any average human. One day, he and his fellow hunters find themselves trapped in a dangerous dungeon. Sung Jin-Woo himself hardly survives.

Release Date Of Solo Leveling Season 2

As per now, there is no official confirmation regarding the release of the second season. But, there are speculations that the next instalment may come out in June or July of 2020.

However, there are rumours that the second season may be under a delay due to the current pandemic outbreak. So, the fans are eagerly waiting for season 2 of Solo Leaving.

Cast

Season 1 of the series shows how Sung Jin-Woo fights to protect himself the enemies. So, we can say that there will be a reappearance of his role in this season too. Some other characters may include Sung Jin-Woo’s father and King Ant.

The Storyline Of Season 2

Season 1 ends with the wrap up of Jeju- Island Arc. In seasons, we have seen that Jin Woo defeats King Ant and starts the new quest to find his father. However, the protagonist’s ultimate goal is the defeat of the final boss of the last level. This boss is controlling everything from the shadows.