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As a series that has been running for over twenty-five years with the end still nowhere near in sight, One Piece is easily the first anime that comes to mind when thinking of the best continuing anime series. The series has continued to enthrall viewers of all ages and ethnicities for decades, growing into a global sensation with fame and success that many series can only hope to achieve. Having said that, the last couple of years have finally given One Piece some tough competition, and now one of these new sensations has beaten One Piece for a major award at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
At long last, the winners of Crunchyroll’s 2025 Anime Awards have been unveiled, and much to the surprise of One Piece fans around the world, Demon Slayer has dethroned One Piece in the Best Continuing Series category, winning the award with the Hashira Training Arc. This loss for One Piece has come as quite a surprise, given the series’ meteoric improvement in animation quality for the Egghead Arc over the last year. Having said that, Demon Slayer truly emerged as the dark horse this time around for the Anime Awards, even taking home the win in the Best Animation category against tough competition like Dandadan, Freiren: Beyond Journey’s Endand most surprisingly of all, Solo Leveling.
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Demon Slayer Dethrones One Piece as the Best Continuing Series
While the loss for One Piece may seem surprising at first glance, it is important to remember that One Piece has taken home the award for the Best Continuing Series back to back for the last two years. The only other time One Piece was nominated and lost was to Dragon Ball Super back in 2019. There is also the fact that One Piece’s anime, despite being nominated, was on hiatus for nearly half a year, which may or may not have impacted its chances this year.
As such, many might argue that it is refreshing to see another series take home the win for a change, and Demon Slayer is more than deserving. Demon Slayer has given fans one exceptional season after the next, with the Mugen Train movie still sitting cozy as the highest-grossing Japanese animated film of all time. The Hashira Training Arcwhich was the latest installment of the series, also quite literally blew fans away with its explosive finale. More importantly, with the series set to wrap up its story with the upcoming Infinity Castle film trilogy, this may have been Demon Slayer’s one and only chance to take home the title, and thankfully, it did.
Demon Slayer and One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Source: Crunchyroll.
