Solo Leveling Loses Big Time at the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards

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Sung Jinwoo and the anime Solo Leveling didn’t have much luck at this year’s Crunchyroll Awards. While they received 10 nominations, they unfortunately didn’t win any of them, earning the title of the night’s biggest disappointment.

Just a year after winning Anime of the Year – a win that sparked debate among fans – Solo Leveling Season 2 wasn’t eligible for the same award because Crunchyroll’s rules prevent nominations in the same category for two consecutive years. But that’s just one of several disappointments for the series, as Solo Leveling faced numerous snubs and didn’t win many awards at the anime industry’s biggest event.

Solo Leveling Just Took a Major L at the Crunchyroll Awards

Season 2 of Solo Leveling, titled Arise From the Shadow, received 10 nominations, including awards for Best Continuing Series, Best Animation, Best Action Anime, Best Main Character, Best Anime Song, Best Anime Score, Best Opening Sequence, Best Ending Sequence, and Best Voice Actor in both Hindi and Latin Spanish.

Despite being nominated for several awards, Solo Leveling only won two: Best Action Anime and Best Animation.

Although Solo Leveling was a strong contender for Best Continuing Series, One Piece ultimately won the award – a first for the series. My Hero Academia was also recognized, winning Anime of the Year.

Beyond losing the award for Best Continuing Series, the show was notably overlooked for Best Ending Sequence and Best Main Character – those were the biggest surprises.

The ending of Solo Leveling caused a big reaction during Season 2, mostly because fans were sad to see the series finish. Sung Jinwoo quickly became one of the most popular anime characters in recent years, and many were surprised when he lost the ‘Best Main Character’ award to Maomao from Apothecary Diaries.

Some anime fans see the recent struggles of Solo Leveling as a positive sign, believing it indicates a return to normalcy. One online commenter expressed this sentiment bluntly, stating it’s a consequence of the show’s previous success.

Many see this outcome as confirmation that the Crunchyroll Anime Awards primarily reward shows that are currently popular. The buzz around Solo Leveling has faded recently with no news about a third season, and even then…

Solo Leveling’s Future Still Looks Bright Despite Its Crunchyroll Awards Setback

Despite not winning at the Crunchyroll Awards, Solo Leveling has been receiving recognition elsewhere. It recently won the award for best “Smart Toon” of the year just two days before the Crunchyroll event.

The night before the awards, Solo Leveling was almost at a major milestone, needing just 3,000 more rankings to reach 1 million total. It had already achieved 997,000 rankings, and most of them were very positive. Currently, the series maintains a remarkably high rating of 4.9 out of 5, with 95% of readers giving it a perfect 5-star review.

Besides Solo Leveling, the anime One Piece (with 816,000 ratings) and Jujutsu Kaisen (with 782,000 ratings) are the closest to reaching one million ratings. This shows that while awards are nice, Sung Jinwoo’s popularity hasn’t gone unnoticed by Aniplex and Crunchyroll executives.

An official release date for Solo Leveling Season 3 hasn’t been announced yet, but Crunchyroll’s president, Rahul Purini, says they’re working to find the best moment to begin production.

Eventually, the Shadow Monarch will almost certainly return in Season 3 of Solo Leveling to reclaim his throne – it’s just a question of timing.

Fans of Solo Leveling can currently enjoy the first two seasons of the anime on Crunchyroll. If you prefer to read the story, the light novel and manhwa versions are available in English on Tappytoons and the Tapas app.

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2026-05-23 23:16