Actually, yeah, there was at least one anime from a pretty small studio that pulled off an upset and grabbed an award at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. I remember seeing their team on stage and they looked so psyched—it was like a huge deal for them. Most of the time, everyone expects the big established studios to sweep the major categories. So whenever a smaller, newer team gets recognized, it makes fans super happy.

I think a lot of people root for the underdogs because it just feels good to see fresh ideas and new animation styles getting a shot. It definitely doesn’t happen every year, but this time it did and everyone was cheering online. I even watched that show after hearing about its win and it actually blew me away with how creative it was compared to the bigger productions.

It gives me hope for more variety in the anime scene and shows that new voices can still break in, even if it’s tough. I’d say keep an eye on those studios—you never know which one will be the next big thing!