Casandra Ronning is a staff writer for Screen Rant’s anime section. Since mid-2024, she has been dedicated to expanding her knowledge and experience in the entertainment industry. She is very proud to lead a exclusive interview with popular actress Stephanie Nadolny.
Crunchyrolls The Anime Awards kicked off with its first announcement in December 2016, and every year since, the streaming platform invites global audiences to vote for their favorite series across multiple categories. Now, as voting is underway for the 2026 ceremony, anime fans around the world have turned their attention to the titles that defined the past year, only to find that some are significantly missing.
Several majors animated aired last year, from adaptations from manhwa to donghua, are not part of Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year lineup, with some titles receiving no nominations despite having a large and growing fanbase. It’s a hard-to-ignore imbalance that raises the question of whether the streaming giant, or even Japan, is prepared to deal with the changing animation industry.
Several titles are notably missing from this year’s Crunchyroll Awards
The Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 are officially open for voting on April 2, inspiring countless fans to participate in the awards show by choosing their favorites in 32 categories. However, some anime seem to be missing the lineup, either entirely or in specific categories. These include major manhwa and donghua adaptations that exploded in popularity last year, including Solo Upgrade, Lord of mysteriesAnd Be the hero.
For Anime of the Year, many fans were quick to see that Solo Upgrade I didn’t receive a nomination this year.although he won the award last year. Many fans expressed frustration with this choice, especially since a large majority of viewers consider the second season to surpass the first. Given that the series has boosted interest in manhwa adaptations and brought many new viewers to the platform to check it out, its absence leaves a notable void.
Beyond that, there is the fact that both Lord of mysteries And Be the hero are absent from each category, despite the number of viewers attracted by each series. Considering that both Donghuas pushed the boundaries of animation in their own way, Lord of mysteries with exceptional and eye-catching visuals, and Be the hero with its bold experimentation, their absence appears as an intentional snub, discrediting both series.
Although one could argue that Lord of mysteries And Be the hero were excluded due to the fact that they are donghua, originating in China and not technically anime, the fact remains that Crunchyroll becomes the distributor of these titles. As the animation industry continues to evolve and Crunchyroll positions itself as a distributor of these new titles, it makes sense that the platform would extend the same recognition and opportunities to Donghua.
Absence of Manhwa and Donghua raises bigger questions
The omission of these series in some categories, or even overall, of Crunchyroll’s anime awards raises questions about how these awards will be approached in the future and whether they deserve major credibility. For example, the absence of Solo Upgrade in this year’s Anime of the Year lineup raises major questions about what makes a series eligible or ineligible for nomination.
The series’ widespread appeal and its role in popularizing manhwa having won Solo Upgrade its place among the best and most popular titles. However, given that it won Anime of the Year last year, the reason for its absence could simply be to give other series a chance to win. Yet if this is the case, anime fans must question the validity of the fairness and transparency behind the awards.
The success of these adaptations is likely just the beginning, ushering in an era where multiple regions will shape modern animation in unique ways.
Since the Crunchyroll Awards have always been voted on by fans, it is expected that the most popular series will win in each respective category, rather than based on merits and objective criteria. For this reason, it is another factor that anime fans should consider when evaluating the legitimacy of each outcome. That said, due to the subjective nature of awards, it makes even less sense that blockbuster titles like Lord of mysteries And Be the hero are completely excluded.
As a series that experiments with style and narrative approach, both Be the hero And Lord of mysteries achieved what few other series have achievedreaching a global audience while pushing artistic and narrative boundaries. By omitting these series solely because of their location of origin, Crunchyroll further invalidates its own platform by refusing to acknowledge the changing landscape of the animation industry.
Manhwa and Donghua adaptations are reshaping the anime industry
If both Lord of mysteries And Be the hero are excluded from the Crunchyroll Awards for any reason other than their venue of origin, it’s little more than a glaring oversight that fails to give credit to the great series that have earned a place among the best titles of 2025. This would be particularly shocking given that donghua, as well as manhwa adaptations, are steadily growing in popularity.
Associated with the had great success Solo Upgradeit is more than clear that the animation industry is undergoing an evolution that opens the door to new perspectives and exciting, experimental approaches to storytelling that will challenge Japan’s long-standing dominance over the industry. The success of these adaptations is likely just the beginning, ushering in an era where multiple regions will shape modern animation in unique ways.
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This, coupled with the fact that audiences around the world are hungry for new ideas and artistic visions, suggests that the future of manhwa and donghua will only become brighter and more obvious with time. The growing desire for variety and innovation will only fuel the transformation of the animation industry, leading to developments that audiences and industry professionals must prepare for.
With the growing popularity of manhwa and donghua and gaining a greater global reach, the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026, which does not include these titles nor block them from certain categories in the case of Solo Leveling, is extremely interesting. This shows how inconsistent the criteria and boundaries regarding when and how a title is recognized are, especially at a time when the industry is experiencing significant change. If Crunchyroll wants to remain the hub for anime, manhwa adaptations, and donghua, it must evolve to better represent these series, which the 2026 Anime Awards are currently neglecting.
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- based
- May 14, 2006
- notable shows
- In/Spectre, Tower of God, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Shenmue the Animation
Crunchyroll is a North America-based streaming service owned by Sony that focuses largely on Japanese anime but also covers several East Asian drama series. The service is available in several countries and has a small catalog of self-created and published series, with most of its content licensed from foreign partners.
