Anime Awards to stage live Tokyo ceremony on May 23

Crunchyroll has set its 10th annual Anime Awards for May 23 in Tokyo, with the live ceremony returning to the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa, according to the company’s official event guide. Jon Kabira and voice actor Sally Amaki are returning as co-hosts for the main show, while Crunchyroll said on May 14 that it had expanded the presenter lineup with four more names ahead of the ceremony. The company said the event will begin with a pre-show at 5 p.m. Japan time, followed by the main ceremony at 6 p.m. Japan time. Crunchyroll also said the show will stream live on its Twitch, TikTok and YouTube channels. ### When and where is the ceremony happening? May 23, 2026 is the date Crunchyroll has attached to this year’s event since its January announcement, when it said the awards would return to Tokyo for a 10th anniversary edition. The company’s guide says the venue is the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa, the same Tokyo location listed in its current event materials. (crunchyroll.com) The 10th edition marks a milestone for an awards program that Crunchyroll says has run since 2017 to recognize anime series, films and the people behind them. The company’s guide says winners will be revealed live during the May 23 ceremony after two rounds of voting involving judges and fans. (crunchyroll.com) ### Who is hosting, and who was just added to the stage lineup? Sally Amaki and Jon Kabira were identified by Crunchyroll in January as returning co-hosts for the 2026 ceremony. The same announcement said Crunchyroll’s Lauren Moore and Tim Lyu would host the global pre-show. (crunchyroll.com) May 14 brought four more presenters to the event roster: BamBam, Ethan Bortnick, TEN and Young Miko, according to a Crunchyroll announcement. The company said those additions joined previously announced presenters including Asuka Saito, RZA, Rashmika Mandanna, The Weeknd and Winston Duke. (crunchyroll.com) Crunchyroll described the new additions as part of a broader celebrity presenter rollout for the Tokyo show. In its May 14 post, the company identified BamBam as a Thai-born rapper from GOT7, TEN as a Thai singer and dancer associated with NCT and WayV, Ethan Bortnick as a pianist and songwriter, and Young Miko as a Grammy-nominated recording artist from Puerto Rico. (crunchyroll.com) ### What will viewers actually see during the show? A 5 p.m. JST pre-show will precede the 6 p.m. JST live ceremony, Crunchyroll said in its May 14 update. The company said viewers can watch the broadcast across Crunchyroll’s Twitch, TikTok and YouTube channels. (crunchyroll.com) April 2 announcements added more detail to the running order. Crunchyroll said DEAN FUJIOKA would open the ceremony with “History Maker” from “Yuri!!! on ICE,” PORNOGRAFFITI would perform a tribute tied to the 10th anniversary of “My Hero Academia,” and ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION would perform “Haruka Kanata” from “Naruto.” (crunchyroll.com) January’s event announcement also listed Yoko Takahashi for a “Neon Genesis Evangelion” 30th anniversary tribute and said the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra would perform symphonic suites during the ceremony. ### Which awards and nominees are in play this year? (crunchyroll.com) Crunchyroll said the 2026 awards cover 32 categories, with eligible titles drawn from anime that premiered between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025. The company said nominees were selected by an independent judges panel before fan and judge voting determined the winners. (crunchyroll.com) April 2 nominee materials listed six contenders for Anime of the Year: “The Apothecary Diaries Season 2,” “DAN DA DAN Season 2,” “Gachiakuta,” “My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON,” “The Summer Hikaru Died,” and “Takopi’s Original Sin.” Crunchyroll also said Film of the Year and genre categories are part of the lineup, along with voice performance awards across multiple languages. (crunchyroll.com) ### What happens next before the winners are known? May 23 is the next fixed date on the calendar, with the pre-show starting at 5 p.m. JST and the main ceremony at 6 p.m. JST, according to Crunchyroll’s latest event update. The company said the winners across all categories will be announced live from Tokyo, with Kabira, Amaki and the expanded presenter roster appearing during the broadcast. (crunchyroll.com 1) (crunchyroll.com 2)