Just in time for Cristina Vee to do her best to salvage Crunchyroll’s dismal 3rd anime awards, I’ve come with over 35 anime that came out in 2018, and 30 different awards to give! I’ll be breaking this up into 6 categories: Audio, Characters, Visuals, Writing, Trash, and Treasure! Sadly, I did not watch everything people considered memorable from this year, so if you don’t see Jojo Part 5, Hero Aca 3, Liz and the Blue Bird, or a few other more popular anime from 2018, this is probably why. The only categories where I don’t have to have seen the show in question to nominate it for are the OP and ED categories. For everything else, I can only nominate shows or movies I’ve seen. Of course, keep in mind that everything is subjective and that with exception to my picks for the best and worst anime of the year, it’s primarily my own enjoyment or lack thereof that determines what wins each category. Without further delay, here are my anime and entries for my 1st annual Anime Awards!
Wait, I’m a day late?
Fuck.
AUDIO
•Best Dub Performance: Kari Walgren (Haruko – FLCL Alternative)
Runner-Up: Benjamin Diskin (Haida – Aggretsuko)
•Best Seiyuu Performance: Kotono Mitsuishi (Yae Yamada – Zombieland Saga)
Runner-Up: Mamoru Miyano (Koutarou Tatsumi – Zombieland Saga)
•Best Music/OST: Bloom Into You (Composed by Michiru Oshima)
Runner-Up: Caligula (Composed by Yasuharu Takanashi and Funta) and Zombieland Saga (Composed by Yasuharu Takanashi)
•Best OP Theme: “Asphyxia” by Cö shu Nie (Tokyo Ghoul;Re OP)
Runner-Up: “Crosswalk” by Minori Suzuki (Amanchu Advance! OP)
•Best ED Theme: “Radiant” by Polkadot Stingray (Radiant ED)
Runner-Up: “Glory” by BAND-MAID (Yugioh VRAINS ED 4) and “Hydra” by MYTH&ROID (Overlord ED 2)
•Best Insert Track: “Rise” by Riko Azuna (Bloom into You episode 9 Insert Track)
Runner-Up: “juːˈtoʊpia” by Ueda Reina / μ
CHARACTERS
•Best Protagonist: Retsuko from Aggressive Retsuko
Runner-up: Yuu Koito from Bloom Into You
•Best Antagonist: Tsurumi from Golden Kamuy
Runner-Up: Akane Shinjo from SSSS.Gridman
•Best Deuteragonist: Touko Nanami from Bloom Into You
Runner-Up: Haruko from FLCL Alternative and Haida from Aggressive Retsuko: We Wish You A Metal Christmas
•Best Supporting Character: Anzu from Hinamatsuri
Runner-Up: Haida from Aggressive Retsuko
•Best Duo: Hina & Yoshifumi Niita
Runner-Up: Nero Claudius & Hakuno (Fate/Extra: Last Encore)
•Best Cast: Aggressive Retsuko
Runner-Up: Golden Kamuy and Hinamatsuri [Tie]
VISUALS
•Best Director/Directing: Akira Amemiya – SSSS.Gridman
Runner-Up: Makoto Katou – Bloom Into You, and Akiyuki Shinbou & Yukihiro Miyamoto -Fate/Extra: Last Encore
•Best Animation: Violet Evergarden
Runner-Up: Today’s Menu for Emiya Family and Fate/Extra: Last Encore – Irusterias Tendousetsu
•Best Art Style: Hisone to Maso-tan
Runner-Up: Today’s Menu for Emiya Family
•Best Colors: Zombieland Saga
Runner-Up: Fate/Extra: Last Encore, Today’s Menu for Emiya Family, and Planet With
•Best Character Designs: Zombieland Saga
Runner-Up: Hisone to Maso-tan, Today’s Menu for Emiya Family, and Planet With
•Best Visuals: Fate/Extra: Last Encore
Runner-Up: Violet Evergarden, Today’s menu for Emiya Family
TRASH
•Biggest Disappointment: Fate/Extra: Last Encore – Irusterias Tendousetsu
Runner-Up: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch II – Handou and A Place Further Than The Universe
•Biggest Shark Jump: Devilman Crybaby (Episode 8)
How this piece of shit won Crunchyroll’s AOTY category baffles me.
Runner-Up: Fate/Extra: Last Encore – Irusterias Tendousetsu (Episode 3) and Darling in the FranXX (Episodes 19 and 20)
•Biggest Fall From Grace: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch II – Handou
Runner-Up: Fate/Extra: Last Encore – Irusterias Tendousetsu
•Least Liked of The Year: Goblin Slayer
Runner-Up: A Place Further Than The Universe (Dropped) and Darling in the FranXX
•Worst non-2018 Anime of The Year: De;Vadasy
Runner-Up: Brain Powerd
•Worst Anime of The Year: Darling in the FranXX
Runner-Up: Hyakuren no Haou to Seikayu no Valkyria
TREASURE
•Biggest Surprise: Bloom Into You
Runner-Up: Planet With
•Best Narrative: Golden Kamuy 2nd Season
Runner-Up: Planet With
•Best Film of The Year: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch III – Oudou
No Runner-Up
•Best non-2018 Anime of The Year: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
Runner-Up: Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
•Favorite Anime of The Year: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch III – Oudou
Runner-Up: Aggressive Retsuko
•Anime of The Year: Aggressive Retsuko
Runner-Up: Bloom Into You
Top 10 non-2018:
•Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou
•Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower
•Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro
•Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch I – Koudou
•The Night is Short Walk On Girl
•Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
•Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (I promise I’ll finish it soon enough)
•Neon Genesis Evangelion
•Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
•Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
Top 10 2018:
•Planet With
•Today’s Menu with Emiya Family
•Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch III – Oudou
•FLCL Alternative
•Golden Kamuy 2nd Season
•Fate/Extra: Last Encore
•Hinamatsuri
•Aggressive Retsuko: We Wish You a Metal Christmas
•Bloom Into You
•Aggressive Retsuko
And with that, the awards end here! Here’s hoping I watch more anime for 2019. 2018 feels like a subpar year for me. Sure, we have a relatively solid top 15, with a ton of shows I’d recommend, but not only do we only have about 7 anime I’d consider great, but we don’t even have a single anime I saw this year I’d give even a high 8 to, let alone consider a masterpiece. Maybe the movies that will get released online and on DVD later on this year will retroactively make this year a bit more standout. For now, we are done. See ya.
Carmine Castle 