---
title: '"Demon Slayer Would Stop Winning" | The Crunchyroll Anime Awards Discourse is CRAZY'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=ER-KS21Seqw'
video_id: 'ER-KS21Seqw'
date: 2026-08-01
duration_sec: 1009
---

# "Demon Slayer Would Stop Winning" | The Crunchyroll Anime Awards Discourse is CRAZY

> Source: ["Demon Slayer Would Stop Winning" | The Crunchyroll Anime Awards Discourse is CRAZY](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ER-KS21Seqw)

## Summary

The video discusses the yearly discourse surrounding the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, focusing on new controversy sparked by George Wada's proposal for a Japan-only, industry-judged anime award show. The creator breaks down three major debates—why the awards are held in Japan, whether they should be canceled, and whether Demon Slayer would stop winning—and argues that Demon Slayer's popularity is rooted in Japanese cultural and linguistic nuance that foreign fans often miss.

### Key Points

- **Fan vs. Judge Voting Split** [01:11] — Crunchyroll doesn't disclose the percentage of judge vs. fan voting, but the creator estimates it's roughly 75% fan vote and 25% judges.
- **George Wada's Proposal** [02:20] — George Wada, president of Production I.G. and Wit Studio (Attack on Titan, Spy x Family), said the anime industry needs an award show for Japanese people, created by Japanese, voted and judged by Japanese industry professionals.
- **Creator Agrees with Wada** [02:49] — The creator finds it odd that many Crunchyroll judges are not industry professionals—they're biased content creators and fans with platforms.
- **Why 75% Fan Vote Is Fine** [03:32] — Since most judges aren't neutral industry experts, the creator doesn't mind if fan voting dominates; the judges don't add much credibility anyway.
- **Anime Is a Genre Only Abroad** [04:24] — In Japan, anime isn't its own genre—it's just animation. The US doesn't have a dedicated animation award show either; animated works get categories at the Emmys, Golden Globes, and Oscars.
- **Why Crunchyroll Awards Are in Japan** [05:32] — Crunchyroll is not accessible in Japan—not banned, just unavailable—because it's built for foreign fans. It makes sense to hold awards in Japan because about 90% of attendees are Japanese winners and presenters.
- **Don't Cancel—Rebrand or Use Pros** [07:51] — The awards should continue but could be renamed something like 'Crunchyroll Anime Fan Vote Awards' to set expectations, or have actual industry professionals as judges.
- **Demon Slayer at the Golden Globes and Oscars** [09:47] — Demon Slayer lost to 'K-pop Demon Hunters' at the Golden Globes and wasn't nominated at the Oscars; the creator understood because uninformed judges favor standalone films over mid-arc trilogy entries.
- **Demon Slayer Would Still Win** [11:52] — A Japan-only, industry-judged award show wouldn't stop Demon Slayer from winning. Japanese industry professionals and audiences overwhelmingly love the series.
- **Tamayo's Keigo Nuance** [13:30] — Tamayo uses keigo (honorific Japanese) with everyone except Yushiro. When Muzan says 'You're the one who killed your family,' she drops the keigo—a subtle character development moment foreign viewers miss.
- **Popular Before the Anime** [15:28] — Demon Slayer's manga was already doing huge numbers in Japan before the anime started, undercutting claims that it's only carried by flashy animation.

### Conclusion

The Crunchyroll Anime Awards generate annual drama, but the creator argues the show is worth keeping—it just needs clearer branding or credible judges. Meanwhile, Demon Slayer's Japanese success isn't a fluke; it's deeply tied to cultural and linguistic nuances that foreign fans often overlook.

## Transcript

the Crunchyroll Anime Awards and as always there's a lot of discourse on the always there's a lot of discourse on the internet.
we're going to be discussing the discourse that's been happening since happens every year. There's always discourse. There's always people who are happy. There's always people who are comparing that shonen often wins anime
of the year to the fact that people don't have any media literacy anymore, which is crazy by the way. That is nothing new. [music] However, there is some other discourse that's happening that is at least new to me and it's new
little bit about it. So we're going to do that today, but before we do don't subscribe the channel and leave a comment your thoughts. I am at 100k on comment your thoughts. I am at 100k on TikTok, 130k on YouTube and 15k on
Instagram. So I'm trying to get my Instagram numbers up to catch up with TikTok and YouTube. So make sure you give me a follow. It is linked in the description. So as always there are a lot of people who are very upset over
anime of the year, movie of the year, soundtrack of the year, whatever. This is not anything new because the Crunchyroll Anime Awards are always voted on by the popular vote. So while they do [music] have judges, they do not
disclose how much percentage like the the judges versus the fan voting is. I [music] because they don't disclose the numbers. I would say it's more likely probably fan votes like 75% and judges is 25%,
which I don't dislike by the way. I'll talk about why in a little while. But every single year someone is mad about something that didn't win and that sort of thing and I'm not saying that it is wrong to be upset that your favorite
didn't win an award. I have been very vocal in the past about being upset over certain things not winning or not getting nominated. I totally understand. [music] I do find it interesting that so many people are pretty much convinced
that their preference is the correct preference [music] and is objective fact. So, if I cried over this movie more than this movie, then obviously the movie I cried over deserves film of the year over the other movie that a lot of
perfect sense. Anyway, the main discourse I want to talk about actually comes from people in Japan. So, George Wada, who is the president of Production I.G. and Wit Studio, a very prevalent animation
studio in Japan. Off of the top of my head, they've produced animes like Attack on Titan and Spy Family. He made some comments after this year's award show stating that the anime industry needs to create an award show for
Japanese people, created by Japanese, voted on and judged by Japanese people within the industry. And I will be honest and say I agree with this. I've always found it a little odd that many of the judges used in the Crunchyroll
Anime Awards are not industry professionals. There are some, yes, but they also have a lot of just content creators judging the anime awards and I'm not going to lie, if [music] they asked me to do that, I probably would
say no because I am very biased and a lot of the content creators that I see being picked to be judges are very biased and have made very biased content, which is one of the reasons why I mentioned earlier I didn't really mind
if the fan voting is 75% and the judges are 25% because at the end of the day, from the list that I saw, I can't find it anymore, but the list that I saw, it was a majority not industry professionals. It was like musicians who
happen to like anime. It was anime content creators and they're just fans as well. They just have a platform. So, I definitely do agree that there should I definitely do agree that there should be an award show. I do question if the
because in [music] Japan anime isn't really its own genre, it's just animated me if I'm wrong cuz I don't pay attention [music] to a whole lot of attention [music] to a whole lot of award shows. I don't think even here in
the United States we have [music] a specific award show for animated material. Things like animated movie of the year, animated TV show the year get their own categories at award shows like the Emmys, like Golden Globes, like the
Oscars, but they don't get their own award show. Anime here getting its own award show is because anime is like a whole genre with a bunch of subgenres, but it stems from the fact that here anime is a genre because it is Japanese
animation. It's different from just regular animation. Japan has a lot of award shows. I've seen multiple postings about different animes and different anime movies winning awards throughout the last few years. But, I still agree
if they really want to do an award show specifically for animated TV shows, then industry professionals judging. That makes the most sense. Now, the biggest however, was a lot of the comments regarding George Wada's comments. And
there were three discussions regarding George Wada's comments or just in Japanese need to have their own award shows for anime cuz it's Japanese and that sort of thing that I kind of want to address. Those three discussions were
that the Crunchyroll Awards happening in Japan doesn't make any sense, that the Crunchyroll Awards just need to not happen anymore, and that if there is an award show that is specifically judged by people within the industry, Shonen
Slop will stop winning. So, let's start with the first one and that is that it's weird that the Crunchyroll Awards happen in Japan. Now, this stems from the fact that Crunchyroll is specifically for foreign people not within Japan to watch
anime. Crunchyroll is actually not accessible in Japan. It's not banned. It's just not accessible. I keep seeing people use the word banned and it's not like it's some kind of like taboo thing that's like illegal. It's just not
available because it's specifically built as a server for anime for people outside of Japan to watch. So, since anime originates in Japan and it is airing on their network television, they don't need Crunchyroll. It goes on their
streaming sites are. Crunchyroll is specifically not for Japanese, so you can't access it. When I went to Japan, I could not access Crunchyroll unless I accessed it via a VPN and just made my network in the US. But, if you connect
to Netflix, you get access to everything, so you still can access all the anime that you want while you're there. Don't be worried. When I made my original video about a week and a half ago reacting to the winners of the
Crunchyroll Anime Awards, I did briefly mention how strange it was that it was happening in Japan, but I kind of immediately moved on from it because I realized that the people winning these awards are still Japanese because all of
the awards are for best animation, best show, best music, blah blah blah. So, all of the award winners except for the all of the award winners except for the specific dub voice actors are located in
Japan. Now, I believe it makes sense for this award show to still be in Japan even if it's not catered towards the Japanese audience because the people winning and accepting the awards and a lot of the guests and presenters are
Japanese. I would assume it's probably like 90% Japanese attendance and 10% foreign attendance. It makes a lot more sense to fly over that 10% foreigners sense to fly over that 10% foreigners than to fly over the 90% Japanese to
have it in like LA or something. I feel like that's a pretty obvious argument. I don't know why there's so much discourse around that. It makes sense for them to be held in Japan. The only issue is then that it's at like 1:00 a.m. for a lot of
people that actually care about it. So, that is kind of annoying, but when it comes to logistics, to me, it was quite obvious why these awards are in Japan, and that is because they still want the actual people involved with the
production of these animes to go up and accept these awards. And because anime is Japanese animation, those people are Japanese. The second discussion is the idea that the Crunchyroll Awards should just be no more. And I also disagree
just be no more. And I also disagree with this comment. I think that maybe the Anime Awards take themselves a bit too seriously. I think they make it seem like it is the award show, which, honestly, it kind of is. It's really the
only award show that's specifically for anime, and it is a very global thing. It anime, and it is a very global thing. It really only doesn't matter to local fans of anime. But, they could do better with the way they run it. So, I would say
seriously. They should make it very specifically a fan-voted award show by putting that in the name, like maybe my brain goes to like the People's Choice show exists anymore, but I'm sure it probably does. So, they obviously can't
use that name, but if they just say like the Crunchyroll Anime Fan Vote Awards, like something along those lines, so people know it's 100% fan-voted. It's popular things are going to win because it's fan-voted. Or, they need to have
actual industry professionals be the judges, and that's the deciding factor. It's just those industry professionals. They're going to be the ones that are the least biased towards what they're voting on, and the most knowledgeable
they're still going to have a general understanding of what they are voting on because my brain goes to what happened with the Golden Globes with Demon Slayer getting nominated but losing to K-pop Demon Hunters and then for the Oscars
Demon Slayer did not even get nominated while K-pop Demon Hunters won that as well. That caused a lot of people to be upset. I was sad about it, of course. I like Demon Slayer better than I like K-pop Demon Hunters, but the reason I
felt that K-pop Demon Hunters was winning was because if they had these people who had never seen any of these movies before sit down and watch it, movies before sit down and watch it, obviously a standalone movie is going to
have a higher chance of winning over the first part of a trilogy that's midway thrown into the Infinity Castle and having no prior knowledge of the show, you're voting on. So, I still understood why it didn't win. I'm sad about it, but
it is what it is. But, if we have actual industry professionals from Japan, they have a general understanding and might even watch most of these shows, but can still judge from an unbiased perspective as industry professionals. But, I think
it's good that there is an award show specifically for anime that's catered to foreign fans. It gives us an opportunity to interact with the content and celebrate or have discussions on what makes an anime actually better than the
other. And I think Crunchyroll does a very good job at it. Maybe that's a hot take, but I think the award show is very well done. They have great music artists. They have good presenters. And I think it's pretty well done. There's
just a few changes that need to be made in my opinion to make it even better. The third and final discussion that I see, and this one is kind of what got me thinking about making this video in the first place, is the idea that if there
were an award show that was 100% judged by industry professionals in Japan and it was aimed at Japanese people, that the slop would stop winning. And most of these people are either mentioning it directly or indirectly saying things
like Demon Slayer would stop winning because Demon Slayer foreign fans that don't like it automatically write it off as slop and move on when it's just a as slop and move on when it's just a simple story. It's not slop. Now, as a
majority Demon Slayer content creator, obviously I disagree with this one as this is because I don't think these people know this, but if there is an award show that is voted on 100% by industry professionals and is aimed at
the Japanese people, Demon Slayer is going to keep winning awards. In fact, going to keep winning awards. In fact, it might win and get nominated for more. So, in a way, I kind of want them to make this new award show just so that
all of the people that are saying, "Oh, like Demon Slayer will stop winning these awards, thank goodness." can get hit with a dose of reality. >> And that is that the majority of people, including industry professionals, love
Demon Slayer and think it's an amazing show. Demon Slayer is, in some ways very similarly to foreign fans, popular because it appeals to a wide audience. You know, a lot of people talk about how they can watch it with their kid, they
like a full family event. Everyone enjoys watching Demon Slayer. But outside of that, in Japan, Demon Slayer is very different. It's perceived a lot differently from local fans because
Demon Slayer is inherently very Japanese and very rich in Japanese history and mythology, and there's a lot of nuance within the story that is directly from
within the story that is directly from just the language itself. Now, I am a student of the Japanese language. I don't know why I said it that way. So, I know a lot more than the average non-Japanese speaker. I can tell you
that there are a lot of hidden nuances just the way the characters are speaking to each other in this show. For example, Tamayo is a character that uses keigo, which is honorific language, with pretty much everyone but Yushiro. She even uses
it with Tanjiro and Nezuko, and a lot of people would argue that she doesn't need to because she is quite a bit older than them and is kind of considered higher status because of being a doctor, but she continues to use keigo with Tanjiro
and Nezuko saying "-san" with their name and using keigo language. I'm not going keigo is. You can look it up. It's pretty easy to learn. One of my favorite nuances in the final episode of the Hashira Training Arc, when everyone gets
sent to the Infinity Castle, is when Tamayo shows up and she starts talking Tamayo shows up and she starts talking to Muzan. She is still using keigo. She's using respectful honorific language to Muzan, who is her arch
enemy. And about halfway through their back and forth, when he says "You're the one who killed your family," she stops using keigo, and it's kind of a big moment for her. It's a big character
development moment because she's been tied to this like I must speak honorifically, I must speak respectfully to even Muzan, who does not deserve her respect. Like he does not deserve the respect, and when he finally said
something that just completely snapped in her brain, she stopped using it. And that's just one of many different examples of nuances within the story and character development that goes right over our heads as foreign viewers
who don't speak Japanese. Obviously, in Japan, they catch on to this, and so there's a lot more nuance to the story. This story was incredibly popular there before the anime even started and the argument that it's only good because the
animation's bright and flashy really starts to have no merit when you start to talk to Japanese people and look at the numbers of what the manga did before the numbers of what the manga did before the animation started. And obviously, as
with any manga, the sales of the manga did skyrocket when the anime started, but it was still doing huge numbers prior to that happening. So, sure, do this award show with only local industry professionals to judge it and watch what
happens. Demon Slayer is still going to win. So, what do you think? Should there be an award show specifically judged by an award show specifically judged by local industry professionals? And if
awards from Crunchyroll need to just stop or need to be rebranded or at least need to move out of Japan? Let me know in the comments below. But, thank you so liked it, don't forget to like this video, subscribe to channel, and leave a
comment your thoughts, [music] and I will see you all in the next one. Bye, will see you all in the next one. Bye, my ninjas.