If you thought Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle couldn’t get any bigger after shattering box office records, think again. At the 10th annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards held on May 23, 2026 at Tokyo’s Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa, Ufotable’s cinematic masterpiece didn’t just win — it absolutely conquered.
Here’s the wild part: while everyone expected My Hero Academia Final Season to sweep the ceremony (and it did, taking Anime of the Year, presented by The Weeknd no less), it was Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle that quietly walked away with one of the most impressive multi-category hauls of the entire night. And honestly? Nobody is talking about it enough.
Film of the Year: The Crown Jewel
Infinity Castle took home the top film honor, cementing its status as the highest-grossing anime film of all time and the highest-grossing Japanese film ever in North American box office history. For a franchise that started as a weekly manga in Shonen Jump back in 2016, this is the kind of cultural dominance that even creator Koyoharu Gotouge couldn’t have predicted.
But the Film of the Year trophy was just the beginning.
The Score That Had Everyone Emotional
Composers Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina won Best Score for their haunting work on Infinity Castle. These two legends have been the sonic backbone of Demon Slayer since the very beginning, and their collaboration on the Infinity Castle film — with its sweeping orchestral arrangements and those gut-punch emotional crescendos — is widely considered their finest work to date.
Akaza’s Global Voice Acting Sweep
This is where things get genuinely insane. The character Akaza, the Upper Moon Three demon with a tragic backstory that makes fans cry every single time, dominated the voice acting categories across an unprecedented number of languages:
- Best Voice Artist (English): Lucien Dodge as Akaza
- Best Voice Artist (Brazilian Portuguese): Charles Emmanuel as Akaza
- Best Voice Artist (Castilian Spanish): Carles Teruel as Akaza
- Best Voice Artist (German): Gerrit Schmidt-Foß as Akaza
- Best Voice Artist (Latin Spanish): Jose Antonio Toledano as Akaza
Five voice acting awards. For the same character. In five different languages. That has never happened before at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and it speaks to how Infinity Castle elevated every performance it touched. Akaza’s scenes in this film — especially those emotional confrontations — are being called some of the best voice work in anime history.
What Else Happened at the Awards?
The 2026 ceremony was packed with surprises and standout moments. Here are some of the biggest winners worth mentioning:
- Lazarus won Best Original Anime, proving that fresh IPs can still compete with established juggernauts
- One Piece claimed Best Continuing Series, proving that Eiichiro Oda’s epic shows no signs of slowing down even after decades
- Gachiakuta took Best New Series along with Best Background Art and Best Character Design — a triple crown for a show many people slept on at the start of the season
- The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 dominated with five wins, including Best Drama, Best Director (Akinori Fudesaka and Norihiro Naganuma), Best Main Character (Maomao), and Best Japanese Voice Performance for Aoi Yuki
- Solo Leveling Season 2 won both Best Animation and Best Action for its jaw-dropping “Arise from the Shadow” sequence
- Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc won Best Anime Song with “IRIS OUT” by Kenshi Yonezu
- Dan Da Dan Season 2 scored Best Opening (“On the Way” by Aina the End) and Best Comedy
- Re:Zero Season 3 won Best Isekai Anime
- Spy x Family Season 3 took Best Slice of Life and Best “Must Protect at All Cost” Character for Anya Forger
Record-Breaking Fan Participation
Crunchyroll reported a staggering 73 million votes cast by fans worldwide — a new all-time record. The biggest voting blocs came from Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, and the United States, showing just how global the anime phenomenon has become.
The ceremony featured a stacked lineup of celebrity presenters including RZA from Wu-Tang Clan, Winston Duke from Black Panther, Young Miko, BamBam, and TEN. K-pop artists and Japanese voice actors like Asuka Saito also took the stage. The show was hosted by the returning emcee duo Sally Amaki and Jon Kabira.
Musical highlights included a Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra tribute to past Anime of the Year winners, Yoko Takahashi performing the iconic “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” for Neon Genesis Evangelion’s 30th anniversary, PORNOGRAFFITTI honoring My Hero Academia’s 10th anniversary, and Asian Kung-Fu Generation delivering a live performance of “Haruka Kanata” from Naruto that had the entire audience singing along.
Why This Matters
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’s sweep at the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards isn’t just about one movie doing well. It’s proof that anime has reached a level of mainstream cultural saturation that nobody saw coming a decade ago. When a Japanese animated film is breaking box office records in North America AND sweeping international awards in multiple languages, we’re not just talking about “anime fandom” anymore. We’re talking about global pop culture.
Ufotable didn’t just animate a movie — they created a cultural event. And if the box office numbers and trophy cabinet are any indication, the Demon Slayer phenomenon is far from over.
What Do You Think?
Did Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle deserve all the awards it got? Is Akaza really the most beloved villain in modern anime? And do you agree with My Hero Academia taking Anime of the Year over everything else? Drop your hot takes below — we want to hear them all!
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