The time has come when the anime community comes together to celebrate the best works of the year that entertained, stunned, and drove a lively discourse in the fandom about their thought-provoking themes. The nomination slate this year boasts some of the most well-known names in the community. However, just like the previous year, the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 has some fresh titles, giving these more beloved and established IPs a run for their money in different categories.

From the obvious choices like Takopi’s Original Sin to underrated gems like Gachiakuta, the list here has all the fresh releases of the year that are just waiting to cause major upsets this year.

This was the wild arrow that no one expected to come their way when it was released. At the time of its release, anime enthusiasts were all fixated on the Lord of Mysteries that was released at the same time. But Takopi’s Original Sin struck out of nowhere, and now it is competing for the Anime of the Year Award. It has also been nominated for Best New Series, Best Character Design, Best Drama, and Best Animation, with strong chances in the first three categories.

While talking about new anime that hit the audience hard, there is another contender that has stormed its way into the Anime Awards 2026.

Along similar lines of psychological dread as in Takopi’s Original Sin, The Summer Hikaru Died made a great first impression as a slow-burn suspense thriller. The reception was so good that it found its way into the Anime of the Year category, along with Best New Series, Best Background Art, and a strong showing in Best Drama and Best Score. It may just snag the latter one as its only true rival is Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, the score for which is composed by the same artist, Kensuke Ushio.

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Till now, it was about psychological dramas, but there is an entry that rocked this year’s nomination lists with its unique actions and subversive tropes.

Gachiakuta is, in the truest sense, the dark horse of this list as it flew right under the radar of many anime lovers, building a very niche fanbase that hails the anime above everything else. Studio Bones has really outdone itself, and its brilliance is rewarded by a whopping 16 nominations. It is easily the top contender for Anime of the Year, Best New Series, Best Animation, and Best Action.

The Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 might just be a repeat of last year, where new titles like Dan Da Dan and The Apothecary Diaries, along with Solo Levelling, dominated the award ceremony. While this year, the same titles make their strong appearance once again with their new seasons, with legacy IPs like My Hero Academia, it will be interesting to see if the newer releases surpass their established prominence.

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Which one do you think has all the makings to cause a major upset this year? Share your thoughts.