Despite High Ratings, Chinese Anime Ignored At 2026 Crunchyroll Awards

The nominees for the most anticipated anime event of the year, the Crunchyroll Awards of 2026, have finally been revealed. The voting polls have opened for fans but there is growing discontentment with the decision made concerning which anime have been nominated and what's been left out. Fans have immediately noticed that among the Crunchyroll Awards nominees, two Chinese hit anime that were released in 2025 were absent: To Be Hero X and Lord of Mysteries. Both are incredibly highly rated and the decision to exclude them, whether based on technicalities or otherwise, has not gone down well with fans. That said, Crunchyroll appears to have its reasons for not including the two up-and-coming anime giants.

Breaking Down The Japanese Production Rules For Eligibility In Crunchyroll Awards

The Crunchyroll Awards are the biggest anime awards outside of Japan. For choosing the nominees when it comes to the anime series competing for the top awards each year, they have a set of rules they follow. For starters, the nominees are chosen by a jury vote, and the anime series nominated for the 2026 Awards must have aired between January and December 2025.

Another important part of the Crunchyroll Awards regulations is that an anime must be produced in Japan. In other words, if an anime isn't produced by a Japanese studio and distributed in Japan, it likely won't be nominated, which was the case with Lord of Mysteries.

There is a strong belief that To Be Hero X, and Lord of Mysteries were excluded from this lineup due to being based on Chinese stories. However, a story doesn't have to be originally from Japan to be nominated, as seen with manhwa-based series such as Solo Leveling. The main difference between Solo Leveling and Lord of Mysteries is that the former was produced by Japanese studios. With that in mind, to be considered a true anime, the production must thus be majority Japanese, and this is where these Chinese series fail.

Lord of Mysteries was almost completely produced in China and To Be Hero X was technically co-produced in Japan, but the majority of its production was still in China, which is what likely made it ineligible for the category. Of course, fans believe this rule is unfair. After all, these anime series are airing on their platform regardless of whether they're produced in Japan or not.

Why To Be Hero X Ratings Made It Worthy Of A Nomination

Lord of Mysteries and To Be Hero X were both incredibly successful and for many, this was their first introduction to Donghua, or Chinese anime. On MyAnimeList, To Be Hero X achieved a score of 8.68 out of 10, making it one of the very highest-rated series on the platform in the year 2025. Lord of Mysteries also fared extremely well. On MyAnimeList, it ended up scoring 8.61 out of 10. It even became the highest-rated isekai series of all time, surpassing Japanese giants such as Re:Zero, or That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.

These two anime were definitely more than worthy of a nomination. Anime of the Year would have been a perfect nomination for either series but there were other categories, such as best new series, best action, or best animation that they could have also been nominated for.

Assessing The Rapid Growth of Chinese Anime

It's undeniable that Chinese anime are growing at a rapid rate. Before 2025, even avid viewers of anime had never watched any Chinese anime, but now, these series are definitely getting a lot of traction and that is especially due to Crunchyroll hosting them and allowing a broader audience, especially overseas fans, to enjoy them.

Many new Chinese series are going to make their debut this year, and in the future, fans will definitely be more likely to check them out after their experience with Lord of Mystery and To Be Hero X. Unfortunately, Crunchyroll's rather strange rules mean that they will be excluded from any award nominations for the future as well, as long as they're produced outside of Japan.

The Future of Lord of Mysteries and To Be Hero X

The future of Lord of Mysteries and To Be Hero X is quite bright. Lord of Mysteries, for example, already has the next decade planned out for it. The studio behind it has already confirmed that they are planning a multitude of new seasons for it. In fact, its second season is set to air in 2027, and it will showcase over 30 episodes with a longer run time.

Meanwhile, To Be Hero X doesn't have as many future projects confirmed. Its second season has already been announced, and fans can't wait for it to drop.

Both Lord of Mysteries and To Be Hero X are available to stream on Crunchyroll.