Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director
| Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best directing of the previous year |
| Country |
|
| First award | Masaaki Yuasa — Devilman Crybaby (2019) |
| Currently held by | Akinori Fudesaka and Norihiro Naganuma — The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 (2026) |
| Most wins | Masaaki Yuasa (2) |
| Most nominations | Yuichiro Hayashi (3) |
| Website | Crunchyroll Anime Awards |
The Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director is an above-the-line award given at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards since its third edition in 2019. It is given for the best directing in an anime series from the previous year. Winners are determined through a combined voting process by judges and public voting.[1]
Science SARU's co-founder Masaaki Yuasa first won the award in 2019 for his direction of Devilman Crybaby, which also awarded the second time in 2021 for his direction of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, the first anime director to win multiple awards and currently the oldest director to win.[2][3] Yuichiro Hayashi holds the record for the most nominations—also the most nominations without a win—with 3 for his direction in the fourth and final season of Attack on Titan.
2 out of 8 anime series won the Best Director category together with Anime of the Year category, the highest award.
In the latest edition in 2026, Akinori Fudesaka and Norihiro Naganuma won the award for their direction in the second season of The Apothecary Diaries.[4]
Winners and nominees
In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which are listed in alphabetical order. The years given are those in which the ceremonies took place.
2010s
| Year | Director(s) | Anime |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 (3rd) [2] | ||
| Masaaki Yuasa | Devilman Crybaby | |
| Atsuko Ishizuka | A Place Further than the Universe | |
| Hiroko Utsumi | Banana Fish | |
| Yo Moriyama | Megalo Box | |
| Yohei Suzuki | Planet With | |
| Taichi Ishidate | Violet Evergarden | |
| 2019 (4th) [5][6] | ||
| Tetsurō Araki and Masashi Koizuka | Attack on Titan (season 3) | |
| Kiyotaka Suzuki | Babylon | |
| Shinichirō Watanabe and Motonobu Hori | Carole & Tuesday | |
| Yuzuru Tachikawa | Mob Psycho 100 II (season 2) | |
| Kunihiko Ikuhara | Sarazanmai | |
| Shuhei Yabuta | Vinland Saga | |
2020s
Records
Director
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| Director | Wins | Nominations | Anime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masaaki Yuasa | 2 | Devilman Crybaby, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! | |
| Haruo Sotozaki | 1 | 2 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Entertainment District Arc, Hashira Training Arc) |
| Keiichirō Saitō | Bocchi the Rock!, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End | ||
| Norihiro Naganuma | The Apothecary Diaries (Season 1, Season 2) | ||
| Yuichiro Hayashi | 0 | 3 | Attack on Titan (The Final Season Part 1, The Final Season Part 2, The Final Season The Final Chapters Special 1) |
| Fūga Yamashiro | 2 | Dandadan (Season 1, Season 2) | |
| Sunghoo Park | Jujutsu Kaisen (Season 1 cour 1, Season 1 cour 2) | ||
| Yo Moriyama | Megalo Box, Megalobox 2: Nomad | ||
| Yuzuru Tachikawa | Deca-Dence, Mob Psycho 100 (Season 2) | ||
Age
| Superlative | Recipient | Anime | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oldest winner | Masaaki Yuasa | Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! | 55 |
| Oldest nominee | |||
| Youngest winner | Keiichirō Saitō | Frieren: Beyond Journey's End | 32 |
| Youngest nominee | Bocchi the Rock! | 31 |
References
- ↑ "Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2024: Your Ultimate Guide". December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- 1 2 Schley, Matt (February 17, 2019). "Devilman Crybaby Wins Anime of the Year at Crunchyroll Anime Awards". Otaku USA Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- 1 2 Luster, Joseph (February 19, 2021). "Rewatch the 2021 Anime Awards Here (and Find Out Who Won!)". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- 1 2 Hazra, Adriana (May 23, 2026). "Winners of The Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 23, 2026. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- ↑ Orsini, Lauren (January 10, 2020). "Here Are All The Nominees For The 2019 Crunchyroll Anime Awards". Forbes. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ↑ Ramée, Jordan (February 15, 2020). "Every Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2020 Winner, Including Anime Of The Year". GameSpot. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ↑ Schneider, Michael (January 18, 2022). "Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2022 Nominations Include '86 Eighty-Six,' 'Jujutsu Kaisen,' 'Oddtaxi' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ↑ Goslin, Austen (February 9, 2022). "Attack on Titan Final Season Part 1 wins top prize at Crunchyroll's Anime Awards". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ↑ Eisenbeis, Richard (March 4, 2023). "All the Winners of the 7th Annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ↑ Patches, Matt (March 4, 2023). "Anime Awards 2023 name Cyberpunk: Edgerunners as Anime of the Year". Polygon. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ↑ Mateo, Alex (January 17, 2024). "Crunchyroll Anime Awards Reveals 2024 Nominees". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ↑ Hazra, Adriana (March 2, 2024). "All the Winners of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2024". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ↑ Pedersen, Erik (April 3, 2025). "Crunchyroll Anime Awards Nominations Revealed". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ↑ Grein, Paul (May 25, 2025). "Crunchyroll Reveals 2025 Anime Awards Winners: Full List". Billboard. Tokyo. Archived from the original on May 27, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ Mateo, Alex (April 2, 2026). "Crunchyroll Anime Awards Reveals 2026 Nominees". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 2, 2026. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
