Like each awards present, this 12 months’s Crunchyroll Anime Awards weren’t with out some controversy. Frieren: Past Journey’s Finish, Dandadan, Kaiju No. 8, The Apothecary Diaries, Scrumptious In Dungeon, and Solo Leveling have been all vying for the large prize, and, maybe not shockingly, the latter collection received. Social media, resembling the Anime subreddit, was flooded by followers complaining about the outcomes. However the ceremony wasn’t fully mistaken, as one anime movie solemnly deserved to win its respective class.
The Anime Movie of the Year class is, sadly, missed by most viewers. All eyes are typically on the large prize, Anime of the Year, which is tough fought for by the finest exhibits from the previous 12 months. However, except there’s a brand new Studio Ghibli movie or a film by Makoto Shinkai, the Anime Movie of the Year class tends to get left on the sidelines. Fortunately, this 12 months the class bought the consideration it deserved, and the winner was undoubtedly the finest anime film of the 12 months, Look Again.
Look Again Deserved Its Anime Award
The controversy surrounding the Anime of the Year winner deserves a complete deep dive of its personal (it’s a great factor ComicBook has already approached it), however Look Again taking residence the Anime Movie of the Year award was undoubtedly the proper alternative. Similar to the large prize, Anime Movie of the Year was one other robust class. Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, Mononoke The Film: The Phantom in the Rain, My Hero Academia: You’re Subsequent, Spy x Household Code: White, and The Colours Inside have been the different contenders, and so they have been all nice movies.
However, Look Again was the standout favourite, and nobody complained when it received the prize. Directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama and primarily based on the manga by Chainsaw Man‘s Tatsuki Fujimoto, Look Again is the shortest movie amongst the nominees, however it’s little question the most impactful. The 58-minute-long movie follows two highschool college students who bond over their shared love of drawing manga panels. Over the years, their careers take them on completely different paths, however a tragic occasion forces them to look again on their friendship, and the time they misplaced.
The movie was animated by Studio Durian, and the gorgeous animation was unanimously praised by each critics and followers. In actual fact, the movie holds the uncommon achievement of an ideal 100% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes. However what’s extra spectacular is its equally nice viewers rating of 99%. Creatives immediately fell in love with the movie as Fujino and Kyomoto’s ardour for drawing was deeply relatable, whereas informal audiences have been left heartbroken by the stunning and tear-jerking ending, which was impressed by a real story.
Look Again‘s crowning achievement is its character work. Fujino and Kyomoto are polar opposites in phrases of their personalities, however the film makes their friendship really feel actual and pure. Beginning out as unknowing rivals, they develop collectively and kind a bond that rivals any long-running collection. That is aided by the breathtaking animation from Studio Durian, which takes comparatively grounded and mundane visuals, like small flats, places of work, and fields, and, via Fujimoto’s distinctive artwork fashion, produces jaw-dropping and interesting surroundings. All of this culminates in a bombshell of a twist that sweeps the rug out from below your toes.
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Look Again’s Accolades Proceed to Develop
The Crunchyroll Anime Awards’ Movie of the Year title is way from the first accolade Look Again has received since its launch in 2024. Earlier this 12 months, Look Again picked up Finest Animation Movie at the Awards of the Japanese Academy. In 2024, it additionally acquired a number of nominations at varied native movie festivals. It was additionally named ComicBook’s Finest Anime Film of 2024. Many have been anticipating Look Again to get a nomination at this 12 months’s Oscars. Nevertheless, no anime film was acknowledged by The Academy in 2025.
In case you haven’t watched Look Again but, do your self a favor: put together a field of tissues, get some snacks, load up Prime Video, and put together to cry. It’s arduous to think about that such a grounded and shifting movie got here from the similar thoughts behind the wacky and peculiar Chainsaw Man, however it’s additionally a testomony to Tatsuki Fujimoto’s versatility as an artist.
What did you suppose of this 12 months’s Anime Awards? Did Look Again deserve the win? Tell us in the feedback beneath…
