You've Got My Vote

It is one of my favorite times of the year: When nerdoms come together to compete for what they accomplished over the year. Yes, it's finally time for the Anime Awards!

If you were with me last year, than you know how this is going to go. If you weren't, well then buckle up buttercups, you are in for a wild ride- this is a doozy of a post. Let me explain at least a tiny bit: one of my favorite nerd companies that we talk about regularly here on Nerdom, Crunchyroll, hosts an annual Anime Awards show. There are judges as well as fan votes that go towards deciding the winner. I always have a lot of predictions and, well, just over all a lot to say. With that being said- I shall not hold back! Let us BEGIN!

Our categories this year are:

Anime of the Year

Best Animation

Best Opening Sequence

Best Ending Sequence

Best Boy

Best Girl

Best Score

Best Performance by a Voice Actor (Japanese)

Best Performance by a Voice Actor (English)

Best Director

Best Character Design

Best Protagonist

Best Antagonist

Best Fight Scene

Best Couple

Best Drama

Best Fantasy

Best Comedy

Like last year, the above bolded categories are the ones I am going to focus on in order to keep this from being a million-year long read. I was not disappointed at all that they decided to keep the same categories this year, because I feel like it is a very well rounded list and are categories that I tend to think about all year long while I'm reviewing animes. Even still, I changed two of the categories that I chose to talk about in comparison to last year. Anime of the Year, Best Opening Sequence, and Best Ending Sequence, are musts for me! But last year I also picked Best Protagonist and Best Drama, whereas this year I chose Best Antagonist and Best Fight Scene. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty to say about all these categories, but these are the ones I had the most to say about. Now, it's about time I say it.

Best Opening Sequence

The nominees for Best Opening Sequence are:

"Easy Breezy" by chelmico - Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

“KAIKAIKITAN” by EVE - JUJUTSU KAISEN

“Wild Side” by ALI - BEASTARS

“G.P.” by Yutaka Yamada - Great Pretender

“Daddy Daddy Do!” by Masayuki Suzuki - Kaguya-sama: Love is War? (Season 2)

“Phoenix” by Burnout Syndromes - HAIKYU!! TO THE TOP

I love that music is so ingrained into the anime experience, so much so that we have categories like this for awards. Music and animation are a match made in heaven, and all of these nominees brought their A-game. Last year's awards were pretty easy to guess who would win in most categories, but I have to admit this year is much harder. For starters, Kaguya-sama: Love is War? and HAIKYU!! are both known for their great opening and ending sequences- they are always fan favorites. But that doesn't, or at least shouldn't, automatically make them winners. The first three on that list [Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, JUJUTSU KAISEN, and BEASTARS] all had AMAZING opening sequences, but for wildly different reasons. BEASTARS opening was extremely unique, fun, cute, and told a great story that directly connected to the story of the anime itself. Surprisingly, that's not common for these sequences; more often than not they have nothing to do with the actual anime storyline. I found this refreshing, cute, and I loved both the song and animation pretty equally. JUJUTSU KAISEN on the other hand had a serious opening that almost reminded me of the style of openings you'd see with Banana Fish. Which, in short, means I loved it. But if you were looking for an opening that made you move, look no further than Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! The song, animation, and pace were all pretty perfect to me for gearing up for a fun anime mood, they really set the tone for their show which is what a good opening sequence should do. In the end, I predict that Beastars will win (which I won't be disappointed about), but Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! has my vote.

Best Ending Sequence

The nominees for Best Ending Sequence are:

“LOST IN PARADISE” by ALI feat. AKLO - JUJUTSU KAISEN

“The Great Pretender” by Freddie Mercury - Great Pretender

“Night Running” by Shin Sakura ft AAAMYYY - BNA: Brand New Animal

“(K)NoW_NAME” by 「D.D.D.D」- Dorohedoro

“Welcome My Friend” by OKAMOTO’S - The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED

"Last Dance" by Mamoru Miyano - In/Spectre

Don't worry my thoughts on the ending sequence nominees are much shorter. The opening sequence category had a lot of strong game this year, but frankly I felt it's counter part did not. Hands down I think the winner of Best Ending Sequence will, and should be, “LOST IN PARADISE” by ALI feat. AKLO - JUJUTSU KAISEN. This is such a fun ending and for some reason makes me think of Yuri!!! On Ice's opening sequence which is, honestly, such a classic. I love it and I hope to see it take this rightful win.

Best Antagonist

The nominees for Best Antagonist are:

En - Dorohedoro

Ryomen Sukuna - JUJUTSU KAISEN

Rachel - Tower of God

Akito Soma - Fruits Basket (Season 2)

Echidna - Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2

Overhaul - My Hero Academia Season 4

This was one of my different category picks this year, and that's mainly because it was SO hard...yet SO good. I am well acquainted with all of these antagonists, with the exception of Echidna (but to play with these other characters, I have no doubt that they are a good contender as well). This was a particularly painful category for me this year, because Fruits Basket and Tower of God were pitted against each other. But this was the PERFECT category for that to happen, Rachel and Akito are the perfect villains. They are the ones that make us the most angry and the most hurt in fiction. Why? Think about it, why did people hate Umbridge more than they hated Voldemort in the Harry Potter series? The answer is quite simple: Umbridge was a villian we have all faced or could at least imagine facing. Rachel and Akito fall into the same category- They represent the evils we are capable of facing any and every day. They aren't mystical beings (bear with me Fruba fans) that we would never face, they are people we might deal with at work or school or within our own family circle or friend group! They're more real, and we hate that, don't we? Or at the very least...it hits a little differently. I am hesitant to say who I think will win because I feel like to do so is to admit that I have less faith in the anime community than I usually seem to, but sometimes fans can be pretty basic. With that being said, I think it is likely that JUJUTSU KAISEN will take this win due to its massive popularity right now, but my vote firmly goes to Akito Soma from Fruits Basket.

Best Fight Scene

The nominees for Best Fight Scene are:

Gojo Satoru vs. Ryomen Sukuna - JUJUTSU KAISEN

Jin Mori vs Jegai Taek - The God of High School

Bercouli vs Emperor Vector - Sword Art Online Alicization: War of the Underworld Part 2

Deku vs Overhaul - My Hero Academia Season 4

Jin Mori vs Han Daewi - The God of High School

Brawler vs Master - Akudama Drive

Holy smokes would you look at that line up. Do you see what I see? The God of High School (a Webtoon to Crunchyroll ) Original, has TWO nominations in the SAME category! I was blown away when I saw that! I mean, it makes perfect sense because it is a fighting comic/show, but still! Even so, the other nominees are not to be trifled with. These are some intense scenes that should all be considered, even if two nominations is hard to ignore. And honestly I don't know if two nominations can even secure this adaptation's win. You see, Deku vs Overhaul was a huge moment for the anime world and I feel like most people not only watched it, but cried a little. That battle was the center piece of Season 4 and rightfully so. With that being said, I do have hopes for The God of High School, BUT I think the winner will be My Hero Academia, and I have to admit, they have my vote too.

Anime of the Year

The nominees for Anime of the Year are:

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

JUJUTSU KAISEN

Dorohedoro

Great Pretender

Appare-Ranman!

BEASTARS

The category we have all been waiting for- Anime of the Year. This is the big kahuna, and all the nominees were incredible in their own right. This was also a VERY diverse year, with each anime having their own unique flavor. Let's break this down a little shall we?

I have to be honest, half of this article I have had "Do you see what I see" stuck in my head... Do you see what I see?! Not. A. Single. Shonen. That's crazy!!! Absolutely awesome, because it means we are growing as a nerdom, but still crazy nonetheless! I am so happy with this line up and I loved watching them (though, unfortunately, I was unable to get my hands fully on Appare-Ranman!) These all deserve to win for one reason or another, but genuinely I think JUJUTSU KAISEN is here to clear house this year. And if they don't take it, my hope is that it goes to Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! It is so pure hearted and gets to the heart of the love of anime. The genre is listed as comedy but should probably be slice of life, and wouldn't it just be something if a slice of life took it all? I wouldn't mind that one bit.

Before we wrap this up, just a couple other notable things I wanted to touch on. Congratulations to Tower of God and the other Crunchyroll Originals (especially the Webtoon adaptations) for all their nominations. They worked so hard and I was very happy to see them get nominated for so many things. It is beyond me why Noblesse wasn't nominated for anything. Personally, it has had me on the edge of my seat, but I digress. Also, congratulations to Fruits Basket for getting multiple nominations 2 years in a row! I am praying you take home a well deserved win or two this year! And finally, a huge congratulations to Yashahime: Princess Half Demon for getting nominated, even though they just freaking came out! Amazing job, I hope you take home your win, as well! Remember people, there are still two days of voting, make sure you put in for it, and may the best animes win!

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Thank you so much for tuning in to this lengthy installment of Nerdom! I am so passionate about anime and am increasingly grateful to have a platform to talk about all my thoughts regarding it. Thank you for listening, I truly appreciate it. I hope you are all having a wonderful week! I should be [finally] back this Sunday with The Mess. In the meantime, stay nerdy and stay messy otaku!

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Also......HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY NIECEPUP BIZZY-B!