Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director

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Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director
Awarded forBest directing in anime films and series of the previous year
Country
  • United States
  • Japan
First award Masaaki Yuasa Devilman Crybaby (2019)
Currently held byKeiichiro Saito — Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (2024)
Most winsMasaaki Yuasa (2)
Most nominationsYuichiro 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 anime films and series from the previous year. Winners are determined through a combined voting process by judges and public voting. [1]

Contents

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 of the fourth season of Attack on Titan .

2 out of 7 anime series won the Best Director category together with Anime of the Year category, the highest award.

In the latest edition in 2025, Keiichiro Saito won the award for his direction of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End , the youngest recipient to win at the age of 32. [4] [5]

Winners and nominees

2010s

YearDirector(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) [6] [7]
Attack on Titan (season 3)
Kiyotaka Suzuki Babylon
Carole & Tuesday
Yuzuru Tachikawa Mob Psycho 100 II (season 2)
Kunihiko Ikuhara Sarazanmai
Shuhei Yabuta Vinland Saga

2020s

YearDirector(s)Anime
2020
(5th) [3]
Masaaki Yuasa Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Yuzuru Tachikawa Deca-Dence
Hiro Kaburagi Great Pretender
Mamoru Hatakeyama Kaguya-sama: Love is War? (season 2)
Sunghoo Park Jujutsu Kaisen
Takashi Sano Tower of God
2021
(6th) [8] [9]
Baku Kinoshita Odd Taxi
Yuichiro Hayashi Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 1 (season 4)
Yo Moriyama Megalobox 2: Nomad
Sunghoo ParkJujutsu Kaisen
Shingo Natsume Sonny Boy
Shin Wakabayashi Wonder Egg Priority
2021/2022
(7th) [10] [11]
Haruo Sotozaki Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc (season 2 cour 2)
Yuichiro HayashiAttack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 (season 4 cour 2)
Hiroyuki Imaishi Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Shingo Adachi Lycoris Recoil
Yōsuke Hatta Ranking of Kings (cour 2)
Kazuhiro Furuhashi Spy × Family
2022/2023
(8th) [12] [13]
Shōta GoshozonoJujutsu Kaisen (season 2)
Yuichiro HayashiAttack on Titan: The Final Season The Final Chapters Special 1 (season 4 cour 3)
Keiichiro Saito Bocchi the Rock!
Ryu Nakayama Chainsaw Man
Hirotaka Mori Heavenly Delusion
Daisuke Hiramaki Oshi no Ko
2023/2024
(9th) [14] [15]
Keiichiro Saito Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Fūga Yamashiro Dandadan
Yoshihiro Miyajima Delicious in Dungeon
Haruo SotozakiDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc (season 4)
Megumi Ishitani One Piece Fan Letter
Norihiro Naganuma The Apothecary Diaries

Records

Director

Masaaki Yuasa holds the record for the most wins. Yuasa Masaaki from "The World of Masaaki Yuasa" at Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018 (30678155317).jpg
Masaaki Yuasa holds the record for the most wins.
DirectorWinsNominationsAnime
Masaaki Yuasa 2 Devilman Crybaby , Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Keiichiro Saito12 Bocchi the Rock! , Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Haruo Sotozaki Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba ( Entertainment District Arc , Hashira Training Arc )
Yuichiro Hayashi 03 Attack on Titan ( The Final Season Part 1 , The Final Season Part 2, The Final Season The Final Chapters Special 1)
Yo Moriyama2 Megalo Box , Megalobox 2: Nomad
Sunghoo Park Jujutsu Kaisen (Season 1 cour 1, Season 1 cour 2)
Yuzuru Tachikawa Deca-Dence , Mob Psycho 100 (Season 2)

Age

SuperlativeRecipientAnimeAge
Oldest winner Masaaki Yuasa Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! 55
Oldest nominee
Youngest winnerKeiichiro Saito Frieren: Beyond Journey's End 32
Youngest nominee Bocchi the Rock! 31

References

  1. "Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2024: Your Ultimate Guide". December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. "Keiichirou Saitou". MyAnimeList.net. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  6. Orsini, Lauren (January 10, 2020). "Here Are All The Nominees For The 2019 Crunchyroll Anime Awards". Forbes . Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  7. Ramée, Jordan (February 15, 2020). "Every Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2020 Winner, Including Anime Of The Year". GameSpot . Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. Eisenbeis, Richard (March 4, 2023). "All the Winners of the 7th Annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards". Anime News Network . Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  11. Patches, Matt (March 4, 2023). "Anime Awards 2023 name Cyberpunk: Edgerunners as Anime of the Year". Polygon . Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Pedersen, Erik (April 3, 2025). "Crunchyroll Anime Awards Nominations Revealed". Deadline . Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  15. 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.