Latest news with #9thCrunchyrollAnimeAwards
Buzz Feed
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
FYI, Rina Sawayama's New Album And Voice Projects OTW
British-Japanese musician and actress, Rina Sawayama has been quietly booked and busy since her acting debut in 2023. In an exclusive chat with BuzzFeed ahead of the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, where she'll be presenting, the singer-songwriter turned actress expressed her excitement for the incoming projects — including new music. Outside of her presenting gig, diehard Sawayama stans have flooded the feeds with questions of where she's been and what she's been up to and now, we know. *Cue roaring applause*. BFOZ: We've loved seeing you taking on so many different types of role in acting — especially in John Wick 4 and you're starring alongside Ayo Edebiri very soon — what's the transition been like between acting and music? BFOZ: So many fans are yearning for new music. Is there any projects in the works that we can hint to them? Rina: And it is also really nice because you get set in your writing ways after a while, so it's nice to revisit Baby Rina who wasn't thinking about all this other stuff. There is new music coming. BFOZ: You're here in Tokyo to present at this year's Anime Awards, if you could pick one of your tracks to be an anime opening song, which one would it be? BFOZ: Anime feels very influential in your music, what was your earliest memory of it? How did it come into your life? BFOZ: What role does anime play in your life now? BFOZ: You've taken on different roles as an artist from making music to acting, would you ever want to add anime voice actor to that list? BFOZ: What was the process for voicing over that character? BFOZ: And finally, if you could voiceover any existing anime character, who would it be? Watch Rina present at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards on Twitch and YouTube on May 25, 2025 — the pre-show kicks off from 6pm AEST.
Buzz Feed
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
How Crunchyroll's Gita Rebbapragada Puts Anime Fans First
The 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards are OTW and fans around the world are gearing up to see which show will take home the BIG "Anime of the Year" title for 2025. With over 50 million votes casted and mountains of discussion online, it's really anyone's guess between Dan Da Dan, Delicious in Dungeon, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Kaiju No. 8, Solo Leveling and Apothecary Diaries. My bet's on Solo Leveling. Anime is (and always has been) watched, adored and discussed around the world. Everyone has a connection to it, whether it be turning on the TV to a random episode of Pokémon as a kid, seeing friends collect trading cards/merch or being a diehard series viewer. The genre has grown up with us and continued growing into something HUGE. But how did it get to where it is now? Ahead of the Awards, we sat down with Gita to answer this very question, chat about what's coming next and living in an anime world. BFOZ: With the wild jump in Anime Awards votes from 30 million+ last year to 50 million+ this year, what do you think has made anime into the global phenomenon that it is today? And I also think it's just deeply resonant with younger audiences and as they start to grow up and talk about it more and have financial independence of bigger allowances. You're also seeing that multi-generational viewing, which is also creating a lot of growth. BFOZ: When you speak to the studios about what's on their slate for the upcoming year, what are the key indicators to success that jump out at you and figuring out what to put onto Crunchyroll next? That is also telling stories from around the world that we think could be a good told in the art form of anime and the storytelling style of anime. We're always looking for those too. Isekai, for example, I think is really popular because the fluidity of different worlds is always very appealing, increasingly plays on gaming references, gaming territories. Solo Leveling, part of why it's so popular is it's a story of essentially leveling up, which I think is super interesting. I think horror also does surprisingly well. A lot of fans are like that. So I think it is a slate approach. It's not just action sequences. There's a lot of art house that does really well too. So it really depends. BFOZ: Working in the anime space, do you have any all-time comfort anime shows or movies? In terms of characters that I just find really endearing, my hero is definitely, especially when we're first introduced to some of the characters in the earlier seasons, found them really relatable. I'm watching One Piece now with my daughter, which is where I would say we're early days in that one. In terms of my favourite character? Might be Spy x Family. There so many, I mean, there's just a lot. I like them all, a lot of different shows for a lot of different reasons. I love Kaiju No. 8, which is, I'm not usually, it wouldn't be one you would describe, you would guess, but I don't know. There's something about it that I just found kind of gripping. BFOZ: Stepping outside of the anime bubble for a moment, as a woman of power, how do you learn to trust and strengthen your gut in an entertainment industry that's ever-evolving and at the mercy of emerging technologies? It's going to change. It has changed in the last five years. It's going to radically change in the next five years. And so being really clear about knowing what that evolution is, what they want, what they don't want, and also taking risks like we are at heart. This is a content. We deliver content. Content is a creative pursuit and making sure we're developing things or giving them things that are very, very exciting and not always playing it safe. I think that's the key. BFOZ: What's the best business advice that anyone has shared with you that you still keep to you till this day, other than know your audience? Because the reality is at the rate of innovation that's happening right now, every company is at the risk of . And so I think what we do as leaders is we have to really challenge ourselves to think, "How would we do things differently, if you started today?".I think I've definitely been in some high growth companies that have been very disrupted, and that's always very top of mind for me is there is someone who is going to have a really great idea and they're going to implement that idea with all the tools that are available to them today without any legacy thinking. So have your experience be your superpower, not your liability. BFOZ: And finally, if there was one anime universe you could live in, which one would it be? Which show do you think will take home "Anime of the Year"? Tune into the Crunchyroll Anime Awards on Twitch and YouTube on May 25, 2025 — the pre-show kicks off from 6pm AEST.
