The nominations are out, and some choices were unexpected. The most talked-about omission was the lack of ‘s name among the contenders for Anime of the Year.
Although Solo Leveling Season 2 received nominations in 10 other categories, including Best Returning Series, its exclusion from the competition to defend its win from the previous year is a significant oversight by the Crunchyroll Awards. Regardless of individual opinions about the show, Solo Leveling certainly deserved to be considered.
Even if it hadn’t been nominated, Solo Leveling Season 2 was clearly Crunchyroll’s best anime of the year, and the numbers back that up.
Solo Leveling Was a Cultural Phenomenon That Went Unrivaled Last Year
Over the past year, Solo Leveling has become a somewhat controversial series, but it was a unifying force for anime fans during the broadcast of Season 2 in early 2025. Each week, viewers eagerly anticipated Sung Jinwoo’s triumphs, and the series generated huge online buzz. The ending theme song became a popular meme, new episodes caused website crashes, and Crunchyroll reached record viewership numbers.
Even now, Solo Leveling remains the highest-rated series on Crunchyroll by a significant margin. As of today, it has an impressive 968,000 ratings and maintains a near-perfect 4.9 out of 5-star average. For comparison, One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen, the next two most-rated series, have 781,000 and 747,000 ratings, respectively.
The incredible popularity of Solo Leveling isn’t limited to Crunchyroll. A prime example is the series’ most-watched YouTube video – a fight scene – which quickly became one of the platform’s most-viewed anime battles, racking up over 34 million views in just one year. That’s impressive, considering official anime fight videos usually need much longer to reach similar numbers. For instance, the famous battle between Naruto and Sasuke has been online for seven years, and a popular fight from My Hero Academia also premiered seven years ago.
The incredible speed at which Solo Leveling became popular really shows just how successful it was in 2025. The excitement around it was massive – it was a unique moment in anime that might not happen again.
Crunchyroll Might’ve Faced Backlash if Solo Leveling Won Back to Back
Crunchyroll’s newest anime, Solo Leveling, is clearly a massive hit, despite any criticism it receives. The numbers prove it’s incredibly popular. However, Crunchyroll also gains an advantage by not allowing Solo Leveling to potentially win another ‘Anime of the Year’ award.
Many fans were disappointed with Season 1 of Solo Leveling, and the show—and even the Crunchyroll Awards—haven’t quite recovered from that initial reaction. The truth is, Solo Leveling likely won Anime of the Year because of the massive success of Season 2, not because of how Season 1 performed.
Although the first season of Solo Leveling initially created excitement, it’s now clear that its ‘Anime of the Year’ award was largely due to the even greater success of Season 2. This makes it particularly surprising—and unfair—that Season 2 wasn’t even nominated for the award at the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. It seems strange that the first season would win when the second season was clearly superior and more popular.
It’s probably not a conspiracy, but Crunchyroll likely had a valid reason for not nominating Solo Leveling Season 2 for Anime of the Year. However, it’s hard to ignore that a win for Solo Leveling would have likely reignited criticism of the awards, particularly from those who already doubt their fairness. By not nominating the year’s most popular anime for a fan-voted award, Crunchyroll avoided the possibility of it winning the award two years in a row, which seemed like an intentional move.
Although the story of Solo Leveling wasn’t the most original of 2025, it had a remarkable impact on anime culture. For about two months, it dominated the anime world and became Crunchyroll’s most popular new series. Solo Leveling Season 2 was arguably the biggest anime event of 2025, and its importance shouldn’t be overlooked, even if it isn’t recognized at the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
You can now vote for your favorite anime in the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards! Head to [website address] to cast your votes. The winners will be revealed during a live broadcast from Tokyo, Japan on May 23, 2026.
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2026-04-03 00:47