Crunchyroll Has Officially Chosen Its King Of Anime Deuteragonists

The Crunchyroll Awards 2026 were held in Tokyo on May 23, 2026, with a plethora of awards to give out to various anime series and characters. Every year, we eagerly await the Crunchyroll Awards to see who gets crowned as the King in various categories after a strong performance in the previous year. 2025’s most incredible anime as well as characters were competing at this year's awards, and My Hero Academia was a dominating force. In big part, this was thanks to its incredible final season, which concluded on December 13, 2025.

Not only did My Hero Academia go on to win the title of the Anime of the Year, but its deuteragonist, Bakugo Katsuki, who is also the most popular character in the whole franchise ahead of Izuku Midoriya, was also crowned as the King of Deuteragonists by being awarded the Best Supporting Character for 2025.

Bakugo Officially Claims The Title of Best Supporting Character at the 2026 Crunchyroll Awards on May 23, 2026

On May 23, 2026, the Crunchyroll Awards of 2026 released their results in an eventful ceremony held in Tokyo after the nominees were revealed on April 2, 2026. Voting had concluded shortly after, on April 15, 2026. 2026 lined up some of the most exciting awards to claim, alongside the most awaited Anime of the Year, which was claimed by My Hero Academia Season 8.

Alongside it, we were also curious to know who would be voted as the best supporting character, and this year, Bakugo came out on top, making him the King of Deuteragonists for 2025. Bakugo’s strong presence in My Hero Academia Season 8, which came with tremendous character development and a show of a fiery personality as he took on All For One drove him straight to the top. This isn’t exactly surprising, but a pleasant reveal nevertheless. To win this title, Bakugo had to beat other very popular 2025 side characters, including:

• Enjin from Gachiakuta
• Jin Enjoji from Dandadan (season 2)
• Jinshi from The Apothecary Diaries (season 2)
• Loulan from The Apothecary Diaries (season 2)
• Turbo Granny from Dandadan (season 2)

This is especially major for Bakugo, as it marks his first standalone win at the Crunchyroll Awards, something he had never managed to pull off before. With My Hero Academia officially over, this was the perfect way to crown its most popular character worldwide.

How Bakugo Rose To Become The Most Popular Side Character In Anime

Bakugo’s popularity at the Crunchyroll 2026 Awards definitely does not come as a surprise. In My Hero Academia, he’s second only to Deku in importance. His supportive role is especially highlighted in the latest season, where, despite receiving a life-threatening injury, he shows his hero spirit by fighting to win against all odds. Bakugo proved his worth by going toe to toe with All For One. By fighting All For One, not only did he save his friends, but also All Might, and all of Japan. His contribution was unforgettable, and it was highlighted tremendously well through the incredible work put forward by Studio Bones.

Bakugo’s growth from a bully to a self-sacrificing support is one of his biggest appeals among the fanbase. In fact, he is so popular that he has been dominating the MHA fandom for a while now. Aside from the very first MHA popularity poll, Bakugo has always finished at the top. While he was able to win his title as best side character, Deku failed to do the same this year and lost the title of best MC to The Apothecary Diaries’s Maomao.

With that being said, not only is Bakugo incredibly popular in MHA, he’s also one of the best-known and beloved anime characters overall, and his recent win at the Crunchyroll awards further proves that. Bakugo will always be a big example of a side character who steals the show with his abilities and personality.

My Hero Academia Had One of the Strongest Showing in 2026’s Awards

My Hero Academia won big via its supportive character, Bakugo, but the series also took home other awards. Kohei Horikoshi's story left the ceremony as the Anime of the Year. While 2025 was dominated by Solo Leveling, 2026 was the year of the iconic Hero anime. In big parts, that is because the series ended and left a massive generational impact. Thanks to Horikoshi’s amazing story and Studio Bones’s stunning work, both fans and the jury saw it fit to hold this title. Aside from Anime of the Year, MHA also secured other wins, notably, Best Ending Sequence with "I" by Bump of Chicken and Best French VA performance with Bastien Bourlé as Izuku.

All episodes of My Hero Academia are available to watch on Crunchyroll.