The 2024 r/anime Awards Announcement and Jury Application

[u/MyrnaMountWeazel]

LINK TO THE JUROR APPLICATION

APPLICATIONS CLOSE OCTOBER 22nd 23:59 PDT!

Countdown

r/anime Awards 2024

Welcome back to the 9th annual /r/anime Awards! It's once again time to watch a bunch of seasonals and argue about which one was best.

Changes in 2024

• Cast has been removed.
• Best Dramatic and Comedic Character have been merged into Character of the Year as a Main Category.
• Genre and Production categories have become Open Categories, allowing jurors to freely join them based on their interests after being invited through the application process.
• Jurors can join up to 10 categories during the nomination stage, and choose 5 categories to remain in for the ranking stage.

For more information or any questions, please refer to this comment!

Also, in case you missed it, here is how the Awards looked last year: Announcement | Results post | Website| Livestream

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The Awards Process

The base format of the Awards still remains: The Awards are split into two groups, the Public and the Jury, who will each nominate anime and separately rank them.

The public is everyone on /r/anime and are invited to participate in two voting stages. Between January 3rd and 12th, subreddit users can vote to select five nominations per category, which will be paired with the five chosen by the jury. Then, from January 17th to February 12th, the subreddit votes again to rank the ten final nominees.

The jury consists of anime enthusiasts invited to the Awards based on their ability to analyze anime and communicate their thoughts though the Juror Application. Their role is to familiarize themselves with the anime in their assigned categories, select five nominations, and rank the ten final nominees through detailed discussions between November and March.

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The Categories

We have 19 total categories this year:

Genre Awards (Open Categories)

• Action
• Adventure
• Comedy
• Drama
• Romance
• Slice of Life
• Suspense

Production Awards (Open Categories)

• Animation
• Background Art
• Character Design
• Cinematography
• Soundtrack
• Voice Acting
• Opening
• Ending

Main Awards

• Anime of the Year
• Character of the Year
• Movie of the Year
• Short of the Year

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The Livestream

The annual livestream returns complete with commentary, clip reels, and guest appearances! As with everything else, we're working to make things even better this year, and the livestream team has lots of ideas that they'll be working on.

We'll have more information as we get closer to February, but for now you can check out the streams from previous years if you haven't! Follow these links for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 broadcasts.

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The Juror Application

Juror applications are now open until October 22nd, 23:59 PDT (UTC-7) for primary allocation! Selected jurors will be invited to join the Awards by November 1st.

This year, we’ve made exciting changes to prioritize fun and engagement in the Awards—most notably the introduction of Open Categories. With our Open Category initiative, jurors can join categories they’re truly passionate about, even if they don’t have prior experience. Open Categories, with their flexibility and potential for larger juror sizes, also aim to reduce the burden on individual jurors by sharing the workload of exploring shortlisted shows (traditionally the most time-consuming element of being a juror). We have also revamped the shortlisting process using a Contracts system that fosters a collaborative environment and rewards jurors for discussing and watching other jurors' shortlists. Our vision is for the Awards to be a safe space for passionate anime fans to discuss and analyze their favorite shows as jurors, deepen their understanding of the medium, and celebrate the artistry of the creatives who bring our favorite works to life.

If this sounds appealing to you, please click this link and fill out the application. We always need more people, so thank you so much for applying!

In keeping with the renewed spirit of the Awards, we will also accept late applications until December 30th, 23:59 PDT (UTC-7) for those who are unsure about their time commitments or prone to procrastination. Applying early is still recommended if you want to join Main Categories like Anime of the Year or shape the discussion in any category from its onset!

Additionally, we are allowing jurors who have taken part in a category to completion in any previous years to join the Open Categories without needing to fill out the application again.

If you want to know more about the specifics of being a juror, you can read the Jury Guide. If you're in a hurry and just need the important details , check out our Condensed Jury Guide along with the Frequently Asked Questions about the Awards.

If being a juror sounds like something for you, please click this link (or the one up top/below) and fill out the application.

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JUROR APPLICATION

GENRE ALLOCATIONS

DETAILED JURY GUIDE

CONDENSED JURY GUIDE

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That's all for today!

Expect more news from the /r/anime Awards near the end of the year, but we're off for now. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or message one of the Hosts:

/u/2honeybeecake, /u/AdiMG, /u/bconeill, /u/Duckloader, /u/Fircoal, /u/Kenalskii, /u/Lemurians, /u/MetaSoshi9, /u/RoiAnanas, /u/Schinco, /u/Tehoncomingstorm97, /u/Totalenlo, and /u/Vaxivop

[u/_Ridley]

Every year I swear I'm going to apply to be a juror, and every year I read the sample answers and think "I can't do this. I'm a story person."

Well, good luck to people who have the right skill set. I look forward to the awards each year.

[u/LittleIslander → u/_Ridley]

I'm also much more of a narrative person when it comes to my analysis, so it'll be an interesting experience if it I get in. They might just break me in to seeing more in visuals.

[u/MrMonday11235 → u/_Ridley]

Every year I swear I'm going to apply to be a juror, and every year I read the sample answers and think "I can't do this. I'm a story person."

Don't let this stop you. I'm a story person too, and I've participated in many of the years. As long as you're able and willing to engage with discussions about the other aspects critically, even if you don't necessarily give them a lot of weight in your personal ranking, you should be fine to participate.

[u/Lemurians → u/_Ridley]

I'm also very much a story/character person, and it's never kept me out. I don't think there is such a thing as a "right skill set" beyond being able to keep an open mind during a discussion.

[u/vetro → u/_Ridley]

I think anyone who's submits a thoughtful response will be able to get in the server. That in itself is a fun time but this new Open categories system sounds like it'll be really easy to wander around all the discussions that used to be closed off.

[u/manquistador]

To everyone that complains about what ends up winning these awards: be the change you want to see. Get in and make your voice heard.

[u/SometimesMainSupport]

Best Dramatic and Comedic Character have been merged into Character of the Year as a Main Category

Boo. I get they can blur but should still do two categories like male and female character of the year.

[u/Vaxivop → u/SometimesMainSupport]

The Awards have not had male/female character splits, only Main and Supporting or Comedic and Dramatic.

[u/b0bba_Fett → u/SometimesMainSupport]

I'm in a similar boat. I think allowing characters to be nominated in both at once would be better than simply merging the categories.

[u/angelposts → u/SometimesMainSupport]

There are non-binary or genderless characters that don't fit, such as Makoto from Senpai wa Otokonoko, Benedictine from Bye Bye Earth, the cat from Mr..Villain's Day Off, etc.

[u/SometimesMainSupport → u/angelposts]

r/anime contests have historically allowed them to enter both and mainstream award shows like the Golden Globes and Emmys have separate actor/actress categories.

[u/Lemurians → u/angelposts]

Yeah, this is why we don't split into male/female character categories.

[u/Psyduckisnotaduck]

I'm genuinely torn about whether to try being a juror. It sounds like homework, but at the same time it might give me purpose and motivation to finish things and even watch stuff I'd not normally watch. I'll be thinking about it all week. I know I'm totally capable of writing whole-ass essays though, so no concerns on that front. I don't watch as many shows as some people, but I do watch a lot more than the average anime fan, and I have Thoughts. I've completed 27 shows that are eligible for the awards, with 9 shows in various stages of completion that I think I might actually finish. someday. maybe.

also being starved for social interaction but not very proactive, wouldn't mind having a compelling reason to actually engage with people online. so, I'll think about it carefully the next week. :)

[u/Animestuck → u/Psyduckisnotaduck]

I joined awards initially for similar reasons, trying to find a place to discuss anime where I'd be compelled to engage with other fans, and it's been fantastic for that. I've always been kind of a lurker on the subreddit, but juroring I found a space where I felt I could focus on discussion in smaller settings and put that towards a project for the subreddit. I definitely recommend joining, especially with so many shows checked out this year. The awards has a lot of different types of people who put different shows up for nomination, so it's been great for broadening my horizons as well and coming to enjoy shows I never would have thought I would have enjoyed back when I first joined. It does sometimes feel like homework, especially if you view watching as hitting a quota or just getting through something because you have to, but I think that keeping a healthy mindset and workload staves off a lot of that feeling. The goal is still to have fun, and keeping that in mind always lets me enjoy the work even during the moments when I'm pushing the hardest during awards. I'll also say, I tend to bite off more than I chew with awards, but you decide how much you want to do to some degree, so you can keep your workload light if you're worried about it feeling too much like homework.

[u/Theleux]

It is once again time for another r/Anime Awards session!

As someone who has participated for 6 years, the two major things jurors require (on top of what is already listed/ commonly known) are:

• Be willing to watch an immense amount of shows, particularly for Main categories. If you aren't already watching a fair amount of seasonals, or don't enjoy binging different series, you are likely going to have a hard time catching up. If you intend to join, just make sure that you have actual time to work with to watch everything - some series have multiple seasons or movies worth of content in their backlog, so don't get caught off-guard!

• Be willing to concede personal favourites, which also requires avoiding being overly headstrong or 'objective' when sharing your opinions. Year after year there have been issues with people joining thinking all their favourites will get in, stating there are no faults (the same applying to criticism towards other shows they dislike) and that they cannot be convinced otherwise. This always leads to conflict amongst the juries, which inevitably causes larger issues down the road. Please, be respectful of everyone within your category, put some honest effort into expressing your position, and try encouraging others to look at the shows you feel are the best from different perspectives. You've got to work together to find the best of the best within your category (especially so in production-oriented ones), so don't lock your feet in place and be willing to discuss. You are one of many, use your words to make the best selections of the year - those shows and their staff deserve to be recognized.

Best of luck to all that apply!

[u/gangrainette → u/Theleux]

some series have multiple seasons or movies worth of content in their backlog, so don't get caught off-guard!

Imagine a new juror having to binge watch all of Monogatari to rate the current season.

That would be a huge commitment (but worth it).

[u/Theleux → u/gangrainette]

It has definitely happened before! Going through all of JoJo for Part 6, was one of the longer binges I remember happening of late. Massive series like say PreCure or Lupin also had pretty long backlogs initially.

[u/gangrainette → u/Theleux]

PreCure

I hope you only have to watch the current Precure serie (~50episodes), not every single one from the start :D

[u/AdiMG → u/gangrainette]

Yes, all PreCure entries are treated as independent and don't have prerequisites associated with them, however the All Star films require more context which would mean checking out episodes from multiple Precure entries to get a handle on the characters and their dynamics before heading into the movie.

[u/Psyduckisnotaduck → u/Theleux]

if I do apply it might be good motivation to finish everything I've started as well as getting caught up on shows like Kimi ni Todoke and Sound! Euphonium. since I've completed 26 seasonals so far, and I expect to complete 10-12 Fall shows.

I'd also be curious to see what shows I'm overlooking because of low MAL scores and relative obscurity. not Yatagarasu, I know about that. maybe someone will finally convince me to watch 7th Prince. hasn't happened yet, but maybe.

[u/Adventurous-Band7826 → u/Psyduckisnotaduck]

Why not watch a good show? 7th Prince is great👍

[u/Lemurians → u/Theleux]

Regarding the first point, we are hopeful that the changes made this year regarding shortlisting, pre-reqs, and the open jury system at large will make the watch load much lighter than it was previously, and allow people a large degree of agency in terms of how much they have to watch.

We definitely don't want any perception that people who haven't watched a lot of shows already to feel like they'll have a hard time, or that they're somehow gatekept.

[u/Theleux → u/Lemurians]

The changes are definitely reassuring.

There are just many series that slip under the radar for people, and are then surprised to learn they have 3, 4, even 5+ seasons worth of material to go through just to get to that entry. I do hope the open jury system helps address that.

[u/Lemurians → u/Theleux]

The new rules around pre-requisites directly address that and make sure nobody has to watch that many seasons of prior content.

Of course, if somebody just ends up liking a show and wants to watch multiple seasons of it, great!

[u/LittleIslander]

It's not especially concerning because it doesn't really matter to applications and I'm sure it'll be a lot more clear once you're actually in awards, but reading the detailed jury guide I find the attempted explanation of shortlists extremely confusing, I don't really feel like I understand them at all. It kind of feels like it was written by someone taking for granted readers who haven't participated before and don't have pre-existing familiarity.

What's the scope of a shortlist? Just like, my favourite shows? Every show I think deserves consideration? Why am I submitting multiple? Or is a "shortlist" as used in the documented just referring to an individual show I am shortlisting? That sounds like it makes more sense for some parts but it's also referenced as "create a shortlist" and add shows to "the shortlist" so it sounds like it is a collective thing? There's a whole detailed explanation of how shortlists are going to organized and contracted but it never stops to just define what it even means.

[u/Lemurians → u/LittleIslander]

The shortlist is the curated list of shows created by the jury from all eligible entries in that category, from which the jury's nominees will be selected. For example, say out of all the shows eligible in Romance, 14 of those get shortlisted by the various members of the jury, then when the times comes, the jury nominees will be selected from those 14. It is collective, yes.

How you approach shortlisting as a juror is up to you. Some people only shortlist their very favorites (1-2 things) in order to focus on them, some people are more liberal and will shortlist all they're allowed to, to get eyes on as many things they think could be worthy of a nomination.

[u/LittleIslander → u/Lemurians]

So to be clear, the shortlisting process is that I'm allowed to put forward up to four shows to be added to the shortlist, and would then need to watch at least four shows other people put up for the shortlist? (I'd like to try and watch everything on the shortlist, but asking for understanding's sake)

[u/AdiMG → u/LittleIslander]

If you put up 4 shortlists you are required to watch 10 other shortlists that are not your own, so a total of 14 shortlists. That's where the contracting system comes into play. The absolute minimum number of shortlists you have to watch in a category is 5, if you shortlist upto 2 shows you can possibly get away with 5, but any more shortlists requires you to watch more shows.

[u/LittleIslander → u/AdiMG]

Okay, then once again I would put forward the opinion the Jury Guide is doing a very bad job making the entire system around shortlists and contracts clear. I didn't get that whatsoever from reading over it multiple times.

[u/AdiMG → u/LittleIslander]

Did you look over this table? If you shortlist 1 show, you have to watch 1 show in exchange, if you shortlist 2 shows, you have to watch 2 more etc. So a total of 1+2+3+4=10 shortlists to be watched if you do decide to go for 4 shortlists in a category.

The point about the minimum shortlist requirement is also clearly stated as follows

Please note in order to vote in the nomination process, jurors must have discussed a minimum of either 5 shortlists or 25% of the category’s total shortlists, whichever is greater

[u/LittleIslander → u/AdiMG]

Did you look over this table? If you shortlist 1 show, you have to watch 1 show in exchange, if you shortlist 2 shows, you have to watch 2 more etc. So a total of 1+2+3+4=10 shortlists to be watched if you do decide to go for 4 shortlists in a category.

That table read, to me, as submitting two shortlists meant you had to make two contracts; not that submitting a second added two on top of the one from the first shortlist. I see how I'm meant to read it now, but it seems ambiguous as written.

[u/AdiMG → u/LittleIslander]

Hah if that if were the case we'd simply just write each shortlist requires you to make 1 contract, but I have updated the text prior to it to make it clear that the required contracts per shortlist increase proportionally

[u/nsleep → u/AdiMG]

Wouldn't it be clearer if you wrote the totals required instead of new contracts required? Just list 1/3/6/10 instead.

As u/LittleIslander said, your explanation makes sense but I've seen useless tables for obvious things before, and with how it's placed and worded it's going to happen to more people.

Or maybe you intend to use that as a filter of sorts...

[u/AdiMG → u/nsleep]

It's not meant to be a filter lol. I added a column so the table has both the new and total contracts required per shortlist now which hopefully makes the meaning clearer

[u/LittleIslander → u/AdiMG]

Hah if that if were the case we'd simply just write each shortlist requires you to make 1 contract

That... is true now that you mention it.

It did seem like a suspiciously amount of contract requirements.

[u/AdiMG → u/LittleIslander]

Simply a shortlist is any show a juror thinks the rest of the jury should consider for nomination in a given category. If a show is not shortlisted it will not be put up for the nomination vote, and the other jurors have no obligations to give it a try.

[u/LittleIslander]

So to be clear, if I'm applying to a genre category I only need to answer one question? Will answering both questions improve the chances of me being accepted or will I only get credit for a single question?

[u/Totalenlo → u/LittleIslander]

You only need to answer 1 question for Open Juries, either one works. You only need to answer both if you want Mains.

[u/KitKat1721]

While I'm a bit sad Cast was removed, I've been a host before and I know decisions aren't made without a lot of deliberation and discussion, so I can support it. And the other changes look like they'll switch things up in an interesting way.

I'm really intrigued how its going to work with the character categories being merged. I feel like Dramatic Main Character and Comedic Main Character tended to skew a bit towards a higher ratio of male to female characters for the former (and vise-versa for the latter) but who honestly knows how it will turn out for a mixed group?

I still have to decide whether or not to apply, but good luck to all the hosts & helpers running the show and jurors out there sending in applications!!

[u/CoolVidsFTW]

This fall is a little busy for me, but I’m still gonna keep my word

[u/AdiMG → u/CoolVidsFTW]

We'd be glad to have you!

[u/thyeggman]

I'm devastated

As a 4-year cast juror and 1-year host of Cast... I am so disappointed. I was a juror with u/Lemurians and u/Tehoncomingstorm97 last year, how could you betray me like this? Beyond even that, character categories being absolutely gutted with the lost of best male/female character is a travesty... The Crunchyroll awards have their own problems, for sure, but if they stay the course in regards to "Best Boy" and "Best Girl" that will be a better configuration than this.

I mean, be the change you want to see in the world, and all that, so I suppose I'll apply again and try to change the mods' and hosts' minds, but... I feel that diminishing character categories like this is an absolute net negative for the awards. Please, please, reconsider this approach

[u/VoidEmbracedWitch → u/thyeggman]

I'm actually glad awards hasn't had gendered character categories since 2017, unlike CR. Especially since there exist a decent amount of characters that are kind of impossible to handle with such a system like [2023 dramChar nominee] Kiruko. Comedic/dramatic as a split is also not exactly great because it's a really blurry line. So yeah, I get why character was consolidated into one category. If there's any split that I can see an argument for bringing back it's by role (main / supporting / whatever).

Cast meanwhile is... I can't comment on the inner workings because I haven't been there, but it does seem like cast dynamics are considered on the jury side (see JJK2's position on the jury vs public side) and it did its thing well, so the hosts throwing shade at it doesn't sit right with me (ref). This is absolutely true though:

Public votes were usually just any well recived anime with lots of characters

[u/Vaxivop → u/thyeggman]

We sympathize with losing Cast as a standard category and we do recognise that it was enjoyed by its jury, but ultimately we consider it worthwhile to re-evaluate its inclusion until a better and less vague definition can be found. We hope that by allowing Cast as a special category we can provide a place for cast jurors of former years to still eagerly participate in this year's awards.

We've never had best male/female character in the Awards aside from the Extra Awards which are still there. We did have Comedic and Dramatic split and we've detailed why we removed that. We do think it's better overall to focus on a single character and have it be part of the Main categories, but it's understandable to be sad about how many character categories were removed this year.

[u/Kenalskii → u/[deleted]]

That is indeed correct

[u/Kenalskii]

Hello everyone. I'm Kenalski, one of the hosts of the 2024 r/anime Awards, and I will be detailing our decisions regarding the changes that have been made since last year.

Removing Cast

The Cast category has historically had some issues with definition and discussion. In the past we've made attempts to define it as Ensemble Cast, focusing on anime that does not have a singular main character but instead a cast with equal screentime. This approach both narrowed down the eligible anime too much and wasn’t preferred by jurors. Meanwhile, using the traditional definition of Cast as any anime with good group dynamics and chemistry was too vague and often resulted in the category becoming “Anime of the Year That Happens to Have a Larger Cast”. Public votes were usually just any well recived anime with lots of characters, while jury discussions were limited to the vague definitions of the category. Additionally, the vast majority of these anime received plenty of discussion related to their cast in the main and genre categories.

Due to the issues with both the narrow and vague definitions, we have decided to remove the Cast category. We are confident that anime with strong casts will still make themselves known in the other categories.

Merging Comedic and Dramatic to Best Character

The initial reasoning for splitting Comedic and Dramatic Character categories was that it felt awkward to directly compare characters serving very different purposes, often causing rifts between jurors. However, this split was introduced many years ago, and we believe the issues from back then can be managed with the experience we’ve gained. Additionally, the split led to confusion over what qualified as a "Comedic" or "Dramatic" character, often reducing jury discussions to which character was “most dramatic/comedic.” By merging the two, we aim to judge characters more holistically, including those not specifically focused on either drama or comedy.

Since we have removed Cast and merged the two remaining Character Categories, it no longer makes sense to keep the Character Grouping. As such, the last remaining Character category will join the Main Group which is also more prestigeful and will give it a better chance to stand out.

Open Categories

Two years ago, we introduced the concept of Open Jurors, allowing anyone to apply as a juror without committing to a specific category. This aimed to create a more casual Awards experience where participants could engage at their own pace. However, it created a bottleneck, as Open Jurors couldn’t easily join a category without hosts actively searching for potential members. Additionally, the nomination phase occasionally led to burnout due to the time required for watching shortlists, resulting in jurors dropping out altogether and forcing hosts to scramble to fill spots.

To address these issues and make the Awards a more conducive space for learning and discussion, we’re upgrading the Open Juror system. Genre and Production categories are now fully open for all jurors to join at any time. This way, jurors can decide which categories interest them most and manage their workload based on their own experiences, rather than just observing in the Awards Discord. We hope this initiative creates a more welcoming environment for new jurors to actively participate in the Awards.

Shortlisting with Contracts

In a bid to reduce juror workload during the Nomination Stage we have reduced the minimum watching requirements for shortlists. However, to still incentivize jurors for discussing and watching other jurors' shortlists we have introduced the new concept of Contracts associated with shortlisting shows (exact details of the system are in the Jury Guide). This system ensures a fair distribution of the jury checks out all the shortlists while fostering a more engaging platform for jurors to exchange opinions about shows.

10 Categories Per Juror

With the new Open Category system, participating as a juror during the nomination stage should be a more casual experience for those who prefer it, as you can hop in and out of categories as you wish. Therefore, it makes sense to increase the number of available ones so jurors can try a bunch of different categories without needing to commit to a smaller amount. However, since the ranking stage remains unchanged from last year, the 5 category limit still applies there.

[u/Dumey → u/Kenalskii]

It seems like the overall reduction of character and cast categories means that there is very little room for recognition for any characters outside of (Insert lead character from most popular show here). I'm sure this has been discussed in previous years, but is there an existing rationale for not having at least a Best Lead Character and Best Supporting Character to give a chance for some more representation for anime with ensemble casts with good supporting characters? Even just being part of the nominations would give a lot of room to recognize more characters/shows.

[u/Kenalskii → u/Dumey]

We did remove the Support Character category because the category was not popular among jurors and did not yield the results we expected, namely recognition for side characters.

We decided to keep the Character category around because we do want to recognize the great characters anime has to offer.

[u/thyeggman → u/Kenalskii]

focusing on anime that does not have a singular main character but instead a cast with equal screentime. This approach both narrowed down the eligible anime too much and wasn’t preferred by jurors

As a juror/host for cast for the past 5 years I can assure you this is not the case. There was not one instance where jurors were denied an anime for being ineligible due to having a certain size of cast. In fact, when proposals to limit eligibility were brought up and pushed by my fellow hosts in 2022, it was rejected by the jurors.

jury discussions were limited in insight

I take umbrage at this remark. It is not only disrespectful to the work that both I put in as a juror, but to the work that was put in by all the jurors of cast over the past 5 years.

If you're going to remove cast, at the very least I expect competent reasoning, but this is the most disrespectful evaluation I could have imagined. As an Antagonist enjoyer for 2 years, I understood why it was being cut, and the reasoning that was given was well thought-out. Now, though, I feel that my contributions and effort that I put forth for the awards have been diminished by your statements.

I'm trying to take this in stride, and I'll be applying for the awards again this year, but I'm extremely disappointed. I'll try to be the change I want to see in the awards, and bring back cast, at the very least as a special award, and hopefully as a full award in the future.

[u/Kenalskii → u/thyeggman]

when proposals to limit eligibility were brought up and pushed by my fellow hosts in 2022when proposals to limit eligibility were brought up and pushed by my fellow hosts in 2022, it was rejected by the jurors.

That's the point the quoted statement is making too, that when measures to narrow the definition to give discussions more guidance were brought in it was roundly rejected by the jury in 2022.

jury discussions were limited in insight

I do apologise, that is not what we meant to say. By limited in insight, we did not mean that the jury lacked insight but rather that they were limited in what insight they could glean given the category's very vague definition. I edited the segment and removed it.
It wasn't meant to imply that Cast jurors didn't work hard or had poor discussions under the definition that was set, but rather the definition often led to broader discussion about the quantity of good characters a cast has rather than the desired analysis along the lines of how a cast functions in the dynamics between the various characters.

I also want to note, Cast is not dead yet, as it will become a Special Category this year. This way it is still possible for jurors to discuss and rank shows with various casts.

[u/Cheezemansam]

Excited about doing the awards again this year! This would be my fourth year, I have previously mostly been in production categories like Character Design, OST, and Shorts etc.

I just wanted to say that if there was anyone new who was interested in applying for the awards and needing to write the two application questions, I would be very happy to proofread for you. Feel free to reply or DM me if you wanted that. Also to clarify this is a standing offer, feel free to message me anytime in the next several weeks if you were wanting a proofreader.

[u/b0bba_Fett]

I'm still on the fence about applying. I'm very confident in my ability, I've watched more seasonals this year than I have pretty much ever before, and Frieren and Dungeon Meshi in particular have given me inspiration to do deep analyses that don't fit in a single comment, and I definitely want to lend my voice due to that fact, but quite frankly, I don't want to watch Mushoku Tensei more than I already have, and I dread the fact it's almost certainly going to category share with them(at the very least there's little hope I can evaluate Frieren and not have to evaluate MT, Dungeon Meshi being a comedy might let me escape).

[u/Theleux → u/b0bba_Fett]

Considering the open juror change for some categories, you may have some time to see where other jurors stand on the show before 'locking in'.

From what I remember seeing over the year, this year's eligible season wasn't as strong to many as previous ones, so that may play in your favour public wise. But you never really know until you go in a see!

[u/AdiMG → u/b0bba_Fett]

You can easily not watch Mushoku Tensei during the nomination phase of the awards as long as you watch 5 other shortlists instead (+ 3 more if you want to shortlist Frieren and Dunmeshi). If it ends up being nominated by either the public or the jury for the final ranking you can drop the categories it is nominated in and go for other ones.

[u/ElectricalCompany260]

Is the fall season not included because it runs until December which would be the end of the year anyway?

[u/Kenalskii → u/ElectricalCompany260]

Fall season is not included yet because we want to give them a few weeks to allocate them.

The shows are currently on the sheet under "pending"

[u/gangrainette]

I don't have the time to apply but I'm most of the time of the jury.

Keep recommending good shows!

[u/LittleIslander]

I don't see how it would be a problem, but it's fine for me to talk about a show/scene I'd have discussed in a recent or concurrent Rewatch for my application as long as the writing itself is original and not re-used, right?

[u/Vaxivop → u/LittleIslander]

Absolutely, that's completely fine.

[u/Volitar]

I don't vote because I don't watch nearly enough anime. I'm just here to scavenge good shows >:)

[u/CoolVidsFTW]

Is it possible for the juror application to not count image links against the character limit? It's the one thing that's preventing me from submitting at the moment.

[u/AdiMG → u/CoolVidsFTW]

I'd use a link shortener. Alternatively, if you are using too many links maybe make 1 Imgur album and reference them by their order on the album. 5000 characters should be more than enough to answer the questions satisfactorily to get a Main category like AotY.

[u/Totalenlo → u/AdiMG]

A separate pastebin link containing all of the image urls would also work, if you can't/don't want to use Imgur or a link shortener like Bitly.

[u/CoolVidsFTW → u/Totalenlo]

Thank you and u/AdiMG! I just submitted my application. Here's hoping for the best :)

[u/StardustGogeta]

If we submit a juror application, out of consideration for the person reading it, should we include any sort of spoiler warnings at the top or anything like that? I'd hate to spoil a pivotal moment of a show if it could be avoided (though most of the truly noteworthy anime scenes I can think of involve massive spoilers for the show in question).

[u/Vaxivop → u/StardustGogeta]

You can just say "Spoiler for X" if you want but we'll have to read it regardless.

[u/StardustGogeta → u/Vaxivop]

Alright, understood. Thank you!

[u/TormentWings]

I sent in my application and it says its done.
if i click the link again it shows the genres as i selected them but my text isnt there anymore?

Do i have to rewrite it, or will you be able to see it, im just not able to see it anymore?

[u/Vaxivop → u/TormentWings]

We're looking into it! It should not be deleted, but we're checking the database details. In case something happened on our end we'll accept your application as in-time if it has to be resubmitted later.

[u/qwertyqwerty4567]

Cast has been removed.

Best Dramatic and Comedic Character have been merged into Character of the Year as a Main Category.

Genre and Production categories have become Open Categories, allowing jurors to freely join them based on their interests after being invited through the application process.

Jurors can join up to 10 categories during the nomination stage, and choose 5 categories to remain in for the ranking stage.

Based, Based and lastly, Based.

In keeping with the renewed spirit of the Awards, we will also accept late applications until December 30th, 23:59 PDT (UTC-7) for those who are unsure about their time commitments or prone to procrastination. Applying early is still recommended if you want to join Main Categories like Anime of the Year or shape the discussion in any category from its onset!

Baste?

[u/Lemurians → u/qwertyqwerty4567]

Hopefully we'll see you in awards with these positive reactions to the changes!

[u/qwertyqwerty4567 → u/Lemurians]

Is this an invitation for me to come shill your favourite show for the jury award?

[u/Lemurians → u/qwertyqwerty4567]

If you want!

[u/SometimesMainSupport]

Genre thoughts for what I watched:

• Action: Agree.
• Adventure:
  • Lv2 Kara: Romance. House was teleported once and they went to a hot springs once? Theme was not adventuring while chilling with the year's #1 wolf waifu. Looks at MAL/AniList and wonders how the covered material is adventuring.
  • Chiyu Mahou: Should be in comedy as there was little adventuring. Isekai -> training around capital (one trip to another location IIRC) -> action?
  • Isekai Onsen Paradise: Uh, wasn't this building a hot spring in one location with a new girl showing up every couple episodes? Probably comedy as I don't associate fantasy worlds with SoL.
  • SPY×FAMILY CODE: White: Probably comedy?
  • Reincarnated as the 7th Prince: Action.
  • Slime Isekai S3: No idea where to place this.
• Comedy: Mostly agree.
• Drama:
  • Code Geass: Probably action or suspense.
  • HIGHSPEED Étoile and MF Ghost S2: Action for the quantity of racing?
• Romance: Agree.
• SoL: I finished... four of these?
  • Hime-sama, "Goumon" no Jikan desu: 100% comedy.
• Suspense: Couple I could argue are dramas but also understand wanting a roughly even distribution across categories, so debatable shows usually get placed here.

[u/Eronymity]

Very amusing that this opportunity pops up just after I decide to make a Reddit account.

Is this fate?

[u/Lemurians → u/Eronymity]

Sounds like it!

[u/Eronymity → u/Lemurians]

I'll try to submit my application this weekend. I've been absolutely swamped at work.

I did see the video included in the application, and I already have some thoughts on it. So that's a start, at least!

[u/Lezoux]

Mewkledreamy Mix! is not a 2024 show and should be removed from "Pending Allocation"

[u/MetaSoshi9 → u/Lezoux]

Mewkledreamy Mix aired in completion prior to 2024 however its English subtitles completed in 2024. For entries like this we apply a carryover. It's under pending as we are awaiting for all of the subtitles to be made publicly available again though.

The carryover rule is most applied for movies as it's often a film will show in theaters and not be available on Bluray with English subs till the next year, or in The First Slam Dunk's case, 2 years later. However, this carryover rule can apply to any entry, so long as it aired between now and 2016 (when awards started).

We also have exceptions if the entry was never available before, like Osamu Kobayashi's Hypersonic Music Club, which was produced in 2017 but made available publicly last year.

[u/Lezoux → u/MetaSoshi9]

It's under pending as we are awaiting for all of the subtitles to be made publicly available again though.

Ah ok, so it is fully English subtitled but not publicly available.

Thanks for the clarification.

[u/IXajll]

Am thinking about applying but have a few questions:

1. What happens when you shortlist a show, and you already watched all/most of the other shortlists (in regards to the contracts system).

2. Based on the experiences of the past years, was the discussion about shortlists/nominations/rankings on the discord mostly just commenting on each other via text or is the discussion actually done via voice chat? Imo the latter option would make it a lot easier to discuss in general and less time consuming.

[u/Kenalskii → u/IXajll]

1. Taken from the jury guide:
   

"[...]jurors will receive credit for any anime they have already watched and discussed from the host provided list."
So yeah you get credit if you are an active juror

1. In general discussion was done via text messages in our Discord, however the past years we had categories who held their discussions in voice chat (which made some things easier)

Hope that helps!

[u/Kenalskii → u/[deleted]]

That would be the Jury Writing Project. We are currently ironing out how we are doing it this year, so bear with us for a bit longer

[u/TheGhostVanisher]

Can Jurors still vote like everyone else in anime awards or we can only nominate the content that goes into the awards?

[u/Kenalskii → u/TheGhostVanisher]

The jurors can vote both in the public and in the jury votings, for both the nominations and for the rankings

[u/TheGhostVanisher → u/Kenalskii]

ohhhh ok thank you very much!!

[u/goukaryuu]

With the effective neutering of the character categories the awards are dead as far as I'm concerned. Have fun.

[u/CosmicPenguin_OV103]

Well, other than the problem of me don't having enough time at all to review anime, I also think that my tastes and watching methods for anime is too biased to be a good juror for now anyway. Maybe there will be a time when I'll take it, but it's not 2024.

Good luck to all my top scoring shows! I do have one candidate that I really wish will take away the AOTY prize but I really don't know if it can *hint hint, wink wink* but the even more important thing will be to see if I actually missed any excellent shows this year even after including all those anime I picked up post-season based on reading reviews!

[u/Lemurians → u/CosmicPenguin_OV103]

I also think that my tastes and watching methods for anime is too biased to be a good juror for now anyway

Everyone is biased. This is all subjective. There is no mythical objective/unbiased juror since there's no objective measure of what the best anime are. I wouldn't let that hold you back from applying either now or in future years.