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The official website of the Tokyo Anime Award Festival (TAAF) announced the winners of their Anime of the Year Award for the year 2025 on January 31. Among the winning titles are 2023’s breakout fantasy anime,Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and 2024’s hard-hittingLook Backcreated byCHAINSAW MANauthor Tatsuki Fujimoto.
The awards are given to the “most outstanding” anime works that were broadcast, screened or streamed in the 2024 fiscal year (July 15, 2025 to June 19, 2025), with 100 works in contention during the selection process that are voted on by various professionals in the animation industry, while the “Fan Award” winner is selected by gathering votes from general users.
The TAAF Anime of the Year Award Selection Process
“Best Work”, “Individual Award” and “Fan Award” Were In Contention
The selection process for the TAAF Anime of the Year Award involves a pool of 100 anime titles, 80 of them TV anime and 20 theatrical releases, with industry professionals voting on the title they think deserves “Best Work”, or an “Individual Award”, while the “Fan Award” is won by the title that the general users voted on the most. The Studio Durian-produced anime adaptation ofTatsuki Fujimoto’sLook Backwon “Best Work” in the feature film category, and given the immensely positive reception to the 58-minute film, the award is well-deserved.Look Backwas released in Japan on July 25, 2025, making about 2.04 billion yen (13 million USD) in its domestic box office run.
Look Backhas been raking in the awards, also winning “Best Film” at the Filmarks Annual Awards 2024. The fall 2023 TV anime,Frieren: Beyond Journey’s Endwon “Best Work” in the TV anime category, whileThe Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe, a film released incelebration ofGeGeGe no KitaroauthorShigeru Mizuki’s 100th birthday, won the “Fan Award” with over 21 316 votes from fans. The PG-12 rated version of the film was released in Japan on July 01, 2025, while the R15+ rated version,Shinsei-ban, was released in October 2024. Together, the films have raked in over three billion yen (approx. 19 million USD) in box office revenue. In addition to the aforementioned awards, there were individuals who won awards for their involvement in various projects:
The Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2025 (TAAF2025) has been slated for March 7-10, in Tokyo. The event has been held since 2013, by the Tokyo Anime Award Festival Executive Committee, the Association of Japanese Animations, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, with the goal being “developing and promoting Tokyo’s animation culture and industry by discovering andfostering the next generation of animation creatorsand contributing to the promotion of tourism in Tokyo by communicating the city’s attractions.”
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is available onCrunchyroll, while Look Back can be streamed onAmazon Prime.
