Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026 Presenters: Global Icon The Weeknd Confirmed To Present At The Event - DEETS

Global streaming platform Crunchyroll confirms that The Weeknd will attend the tenth Crunchyroll Anime Awards in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, May 23, 2026. The GRAMMY-winning artist is set to present the ceremony’s top recognition, Anime of the Year, at the anniversary edition of the event.

Fans worldwide are already helping shape the results. Voting is open across 32 award categories, including Anime of the Year, which The Weeknd will reveal. Ballots can be submitted each day on the Anime Awards Official Website, Crunchyroll, and MyAnimeList, until April 15 at 11:59 PM PT.

Crunchyroll Anime Awards and The Weeknd: global voting and fan influence

The voting system allows anime followers to return daily and support different titles across genres. This format is designed to reflect anime’s global reach, as audiences from many countries participate. The final winners, including the Anime of the Year recipient, will be announced live during the Tokyo ceremony.

The Weeknd, a long-time anime admirer whose music and visuals often reference the medium, will join other celebrity presenters at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. The line-up highlights how anime now shapes creative work in film, music, fashion, and digital culture, as personalities from these areas join the show.

Crunchyroll Anime Awards and The Weeknd: event production and livestream plans

The Crunchyroll Anime Awards is described as an annual programme that recognises the creators, musicians, studios, and performers driving anime’s popularity around the world. Sony Music Solutions Inc., a company within Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and Dempsey Productions are working with Crunchyroll on staging and producing the 2026 event.

The ceremony from Tokyo will be livestreamed, allowing viewers across different regions to follow the winners in real time. The streaming plan means fans who took part in voting can watch the results as they are announced, including the Anime of the Year award presented by The Weeknd on May 23, 2026.

The Weeknd shared the following about how anime has inspired his art and career:

"When I was first introduced to anime, I was a child. Sailor Moon was one of my first crushes, Goku my first imaginary sparring partner, and "One More Time" by Daft Punk was a song and music video I couldn't get out of my head.

But it wasn't until my teenage years that one specific anime changed me forever and became part of the fabric of my early career: Samurai Champloo by Shinichiro Watanabe. It was the first time I experienced two of my favorite mediums—anime and hip hop—blending so seamlessly that it completely reshaped the way I watched film and listened to music.

The fusion of a samurai story told with auteur precision, paired with the sounds of Nujabes, Fat Jon, and Force of Nature was nothing short of transformative.

That influence stayed with me all the way through the creation of House of Balloons, where I wrote "The Morning," "Glass Table Girls," and "Loft Music" over Nujabes' instrumentals. Without Watanabe and Nujabes, House of Balloons simply wouldn't exist.

Samurai Champloo opened my eyes to a more mature world of anime and helped shape my visual DNA. The works of Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, and Katsuhiro Otomo became foundational to the look and feel of The Weeknd.

So it's safe to say I wouldn't be here without anime. It's an honor to celebrate the artists behind it and a medium that continues to inspire the world."

The Weeknd’s comments place series such as Samurai Champloo, Sailor Moon, and works by Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, and Katsuhiro Otomo at the centre of personal inspiration. The 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards will bring that creative link onstage, as The Weeknd honours the Anime of the Year and the people behind it.