Who Will Win?

The 2020 Anime Awards is coming up! Voting is closed but predictions are just beginning. Who do you want to win?

So far on this new journey in my life, My Mess has made me do a lot of things. Be more active on social media, keep to deadlines, talk about things more openly with people listening, and research my hobbies more in-depth, to name a few. And let me just say, I have loved getting to research and actively learn more about the things I love. Because it is through that research that I learn and experience even more of what "nerdom" has to offer me. Especially when being a nerd on its own brings me so much happiness.

For example, during last weeks installment of Nerdom here on My Mess, I talked about Webtoon partnering with Crunchyroll to make anime adaptations of their comics. It was during this research time that I found out something amazing: Crunchyroll hosts an annual Anime Awards. Now this, people, is an award show I can get behind! If you haven't heard of it do not fret, this is only their fourth year doing it but I think it will be around for the long haul. You can find the results of the past three years online, if you're feeling left out. But, either way, I hope you will join me for this years awards and the years moving forward, in this grand event.

Crunchyroll did have open voting for the fans which is unfortunately, at this time, closed. Maybe next year folks but in the mean time, I thought I would go over some of the categories you will be seeing, the nominees, and my predictions, as well as my hopes and dreams for the winners. So, what are we dealing with?

The categories for this year's awards are:

Anime of the Year

Best Animation

Best Boy

Best Girl

Best Score

Best Director

Best Character Design

Best Protagonist

Best Antagonist

Best Fight Scene

Best Couple

Best Comedy

Best Drama

Best Fantasy

Best Opening Sequence

Best Ending Sequence

Best Performance by a Voice Actor (English)

Best Performance by a Voice Actor (Japanese)

What an incredible line up of categories. These are things I look at in anime's all the time! But you would be reading a novel instead of a blog post if I covered my thoughts on all 18 of these categories. So, to make this simple I have bolded the categories we will be talking about. In case you missed it however, the five categories we will be looking at are: Anime of the Year, Best Protagonist, Best Drama, Best Opening Sequence and Best Ending Sequence. Though, I'll be honest, we will be spending majority of our time on Anime of the Year. Don't you worry your pretty little head if I am not covering a category you are curious about. All the categories along with their details and, most importantly, their nominees are accessible on Crunchyroll's website for you to check out at any time. Let's dive in!

Best Protagonist & Best Drama

I am purposefully skipping over Anime of the Year and we are heading, instead, straight into Best Protagonist and Best Drama. To start us off lets look at Best Protagonist's nominees pairing them off with their images above.

The nominees for Best Protagonist are:

Emma in The Promised Neverland (Top Left)

Hyakkimaru in Dororo (Top Right)

Saitama in One-Punch Man Season 2 (Middle Left)

Senku in Dr. STONE (Middle Right)

Tanjiro Kamado in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Bottom Left)

Tohru Honda in Fruits Basket (Bottom Right)

Now, before I talk about it, I want to also show you Best Drama and their corresponding nominees.

The nominees for Best Drama are:

Stars Align (Left Top)

Carole & Tuesday (Middle Top)

The Promised Neverland (Right Top)

Fruits Basket (Left Bottom)

Vinland Saga (Middle Bottom)

Babylon (Right Bottom)

Alright! You should notice that there are two nominees that overlap in both categories. One is The Promised Neverland and the second is *drum roll please* Fruits Basket. I wish you could truly feel the intensity I feel about this. That's right people! The reboot that everyone said would never happen, the reboot that once announced everyone said would flop, the reboot fans cried for, for a decade after a horrifying anime adaptation IS NOMINATED FOR THREE CATEGORIES IN THIS YEAR'S ANIME AWARDS!!! Best Protagonist, Best Drama, and Best Performance by a Voice Actor (English). Allison, did you really pick these two categories just to say----- YES! I DID PICK THESE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO!

*cough cough straightens tie* Many of you have followed me on social media prior to me starting this blog. You followed me on Facebook, Instagram, possibly Tumblr? On every platform, I talked about Fruits Basket. I talked about the original manga and how it changed my life. I talked about the anime and how people shouldn't judge the series by it. I predicted a reboot years before it happened. And when the official reboot was announced, I felt in my bones and told the world that they would get it right. They were going to make something spectacular. And they did. They made something beautiful. That team deserves so much recognition and I hope that this is just the start of where they receive it. I hope the stigma the original anime adaptation finally leaves people so that they can experience this great work.

I can't fully speak to the other nominees. I have not watched them all to completion but what I have seen tells me that Fruits Basket is among some strong contenders. As it should be. I wish all of the nominees the best of luck but I will admit publicly that I am more than a little biased on who I want to win in these categories.

Best Opening Sequence & Best Ending Sequence

Sorry I lost my cool back there, this is exciting stuff. Onward we go, looking at Best Opening Sequence.

The nominees for Best Opening Sequence are:

Kiss Me in Carole & Tuesday (Left Top)

Touch Off in The Promised Neverland (Middle Top)

99.9 in Mob Psycho 100 II (Right Top)

Kawaki wo Ameku in Domestic Girlfriend (Left Bottom)

Inferno in Fire Force (Middle Bottom)

Mukanjyo in Vinland Saga (Right Bottom)

Like before we will also look at our second category before I comment. Don't worry I am not gearing up for another frontal assault about my bias. I just want to lay everything out since these are such similar categories. So, let's do it, let's look at Best Ending Sequence.

The nominees for Best Ending Sequence are:

Hold Me Now in Carole & Tuesday (Left Top)

Chikatto Chika Chikaa♡ in Kaguya-sama: Love is War (Middle Top)

Torches in Vinland Saga (Right Top)

Stand By Me in Sarazanmai (Left Bottom)

Veil in Fire Force (Middle Bottom)

Sayonara Gokko in Dororo (Right Bottom)

I am true to my word, no verbal abuse here. This is just pure nerdiness. Anime credit sequences are very unique compared to other entertainment. Normal TV shows might have a catchy jingle. We all know the Law & Order: SVU tune, or Full House, or Friends. But with anime its different. To put it into perspective, they are so different that these credit sequences are categories for awards. I have gotten into debates with multiple different people as to which seasons credit sequence is the best for shows like Naruto and Inuyasha. It is extra art and animation, and extra music that has to be done and fans appreciate it. You can find music stations on most streaming services for these sequences. The point is, nerds like this. But who's going to win?

James and I sat down last night and watched all 12 of these sequences. You see, the great thing about anime credit sequences' is that they usually have nothing to contribute to the series. It's usually bomb music and some either killer animation or calm animation depending on the contrast they are wanting from either the show or the reverse sequence. Meaning if the opening sequence is high energy than the ending sequence might be slow energy for contrast. My Hero Academia has done that balance with most of their sequences until this latest season which has high energy on both ends. This is not always done but is not uncommon. All of this to say, I felt I could judge these sequences even if I did not know the shows. Some people may disagree since I am not attached to the characters but let's work with what we got.

For Best Opening Sequence, I personally felt conflicted. I liked Inferno in Fire Force and

Mukanjyo in Vinland Saga and felt it was a tie for me. However, despite how I feel, I think it will be 99.9 in Mob Psycho 100 II that takes the gold in this category. It is catchy, colorful, and extremely weird and I think people will find that memorable [which is important for voting] and fun. For Best Ending Sequence it does not really matter what I like because I think this category has a clear winner due to the internet's immediate response to this sequence. Chikatto Chika Chikaa♡ in Kaguya-sama: Love is War was an internet sensation and huge cover fuel. There were so many versions out there and people ate them up. I will be truly surprised if the internet lets it down now. Pretty cut and dry in the end but it is what it is.

Anime of the Year

This is it folks. The category of all categories. Anime of the YEAR. So, who are we working with?

The nominees for Anime of the Year are:

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Left Top)

Carole & Tuesday (Middle Top)

Mob Psycho 100 II (Left Top)

O Maidens in Your Savage Season (Left Bottom)

Vinland Saga (Middle Bottom)

The Promised Neverland (Right Bottom)

You might be noticing some repeat names up there. Let me warn you, in case you go check the categories, you will see almost all of these titles repeated quite a few times actually. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has been nominated for a whopping total of 9 out of 18 categories. And they aren't alone. Carole & Tuesday, which is a Netflix Original, as well as Vinland Saga, which is an Amazon Prime Original, have also been nominated for 9 categories. The Promised Neverland is not far behind with 8 nominations and Mob Psycho 100 II has 7 nominations. Meaning that the anime's in this category alone lead the board across most of the categories in this year's awards, giving them all high chances. O Maidens in Your Savage Season only has 2 nominations but I wouldn't count them out. They were obviously good enough to make it up here with these big titles.

When I first saw this list, I have to admit I was a bit taken aback. I recognized quite a few of these titles but had not watched a single one. Granted, my taste in anime is far from the end all be all, but I was genuinely expecting to see some different titles up there. So, I decided to watch the first episode of each anime in this category. For those of you that don't watch anime, let me explain why the anime watchers are scoffing at me right now. The first episode of an anime is actually pretty useless, it is often the worst episode in the season. Anime's are all about the build. By the end of the first episode you usually don't even have all your characters yet and you only have the vaguest idea of what the story is. Nevertheless, I wanted to see what qualified these anime's to be nominated for Anime of the Year. I was able to watch 5 out of the 6. I unfortunately could not find O Maidens in Your Savage Season on any of my streaming services, and I am done with my scrounging days that led me to an endless world of viruses'.

The first episode might be the worst episode in the season but dang, if that's the case, I cannot wait to see what the remainder of the season holds for each of these anime's. I greatly enjoyed each one. But which ones stood out enough to win this award? Granted I cannot speak past episode one but from what I have seen already and what I am anticipating for these shows? I would say Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is going to win Anime of the Year 2020. It has the hype and the following to sweep the stage. It has a rating of 5/5 on Crunchyroll, 8.9/10 on IMBD AND MyAnimeList. I found the first episode gripping, filled with strong emotions and characters, and overflowing with potential. Personally, I would like to see The Promised Neverland take this one home but either way, both are well deserving.

Something to else to consider is that 5 out of the 6 nominees were Shonen anime's. The only exception was Carole & Tuesday, which labels its genre as Music. We shouldn't be surprised by this but I was kind of hoping to see a bit more diversity up there. Regardless, I found some amazing new anime that I highly recommend you check out.

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Make sure to tune in on Crunchyroll February 15th to watch the awards results! I will be doing a part two the following Wednesday of my reactions to the results. In the mean time, thank you so much for joining me here on My Mess for some Nerdom. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Stop by again on Sunday for The Mess here on My Mess. Happy hump day everybody, keep pushing through! Stay nerdy and stay messy.