2025 ANN Readers' Choice Awards

The voting period is over, and it's time to announce the winners of this year's Readers' Choice Awards! First and foremost, we would like to thank the community for participating in this event.

To start…

Leading Woman of the Year: Maomao of The Apothecary Diaries

Our favorite apothecary does it again! With her beauty, intelligence, and cat-like personality, Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries) received 84 out of 299 votes (28.1%). Momo Ayase (DAN DA DAN) has, once more, tried to win against Maomao; however, she falls behind with 39 votes or 13% of the total. She could not definitely catch up with Maomao, but that's all right because…

Leading Man of the Year: Ken “Okurun” Takakura of DAN DA DAN

This year's Leading Man is Ken “Okurun” Takakura! With 65 votes out of 299 (21.7%), Okurun has finally won our Leading Man category, especially when he was the third runner-up of last year's Readers' Choice Awards. After Okurun, runner-ups Indou Hikaru (The Summer Hikaru Died) and Wakana Gojo (My Dress-Up Darling Season 2) are almost neck-to-neck, with Gojo lagging a vote behind.

Best Non-Binary Anime Character of the Year: Clevatess of Clevatess: The King of Magical Beasts, the Baby, and the Corpse Hero

The Dark King of the Southern Edthea has won the Best Non-Binary Anime Character of the Year. Written and illustrated by Yuuji Iwahara, Clevatess is a demon king who becomes interested in humans, morphing into a humanoid form and becoming a protector and caretaker for Luna. Clevatess earned 65 votes (21.7%), leaving Hebinuma Miyuki from Kowloon Generic Romance with 56 votes (18.7%) and Shiori Fuyumura from SANDA with 55 votes (18.4%).

Best Villain of the Year: Nowak of Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

For this year's villain, the winner is the inquisitor from Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, Nowak! With 60 votes (20.1%), Nowak was able to grab the crown of villainy, beating Anko Uguisu from Call of the Night Season 2, who was nine votes behind. From his persistent pursuit of heretics over the years to his deep love for his daughter, Jolanta, Nowak's story throughout the series has shown the depth and complexity of what a villain can be. 

Best Anime OST of the Year: DAN DA DAN

With 121 votes (40.5%), this UFO and yokai-themed anime, DAN DA DAN wins the Best Anime OST category! Composed by kensuke ushio, the soundtrack he created for DAN DA DAN is upbeat, funky, and electric, capturing the essence of the quirkiness and weirdness of the manga. His repertoire includes Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc and The Colors Within. The second- and third-place winners are ZENSHU with 33 votes (11%) and Ruri Rocks with 24 votes (8%), respectively. 

Most Underrated Anime Series of the Year: Apocalypse Hotel

Apocalypse Hotel is a post-apocalyptic anime that tells the story of the Gingarou Hotel, whose staff has been waiting for humans to return after years spent in space due to “infortunium pollution” that has spread across the world. With only 12 episodes, this anime series captured our community's interest and won the Most Underrated Anime Series category! With 77 votes (25.8%), Apocalypse Hotel is the underestimated anime that we must definitely watch. Other underrated anime series to watch are the second- and third-runner-ups: Medalist with 44 votes (14.7%) and Clevatess: The King of Magical Beasts, the Baby, and the Corpse Hero with 22 (7.4%).

Best English VA of the Year: Morgan Lauré

One out of three new categories for this year's Readers' Choice Awards, the first-ever winner of this category is Morgan Lauré! The definition of a versatile voice actress, Lauré has dubbed dozens of characters. Not just in anime, where she has voiced as Rei Todoroki of My Hero Academia and Nadeshiko Kagamihara of Laid-Back Camp, her work goes beyond and have contributed in video games such as Guinaifen in Honkai: Star Rail and Sylvia in Potionomics. Lauré earned 70 votes (23.4%) due to her current voice acting work in the anime series May I Ask for One Final Thing? as Scarlet El Vandimion. 

Best Japanese VA of the Year: Aoi Yūki

Aoi Yūki wins as the Best Japanese VA of the Year! Her marvelous voice acting brought Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries) to life, earning her a win in this category with 30.1% of the vote (90 votes). Meanwhile, Miyuki Sawashiro, who voiced Anko Uguisu (Call of the Night) and Shion Wakayama for Momo Ayase (DAN DA DAN), could not match Aoi Yūki's voice acting prowess, as they respectively had only 13% (39 votes) and 12.4% (37 votes) of the total votes. Aoi Yūki's other voice acting works include Madoka in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Tatsumaki in One-Punch Man, and Futaba Sakura in Persona 5.

Best Anime Movie of the Year: Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc

And finally, last but not least… The Anime Movie of the Year goes to Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc, earning 94 votes out of the total, or 31.4% votes! Released during the last quarter of this year, Director Tatsuya Yoshihara and Assistant Director Masato Nakazono were very attentive in presenting the characters and encapsulating the manga's core. From start to finish, they highlighted the manga's style, plot, and even its passion. It is no wonder that Chainsaw Man won! he second and third runners-up, are Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved and Mononoke the Movie Chapter II: The Ashes of Rage with 27 votes (9%) and 23 votes (7.7%) respectively.

And those are our winners, ANN Community! Thank you once again for participating, and we hope to hear from you on the next one!