The year 2023 proved momentous for Eiichiro Oda’s sprawling manga and anime juggernaut, One Piece. On the positive front, the series reached major milestones – concluding the epic 5-year Wano Country saga and initiating the highly anticipated final arc in Egghead Island.
Additionally, Netflix debuted the long-in-production live-action adaptation to a cautiously optimistic reception, given the frequently subpar quality of prior anime remakes.
Moreover, the anime depicted the climatic showdown where Luffy awakened the formidable Gear 5 form to triumph over Kaido, renowned as the world’s strongest beast.
This victory reinforced Luffy’s burgeoning status as one of the Four Emperors, the elite ruling the New World seas, bringing him closer to realizing his ultimate aspiration – becoming King of the Pirates.
However, one deeply disappointing development was One Piece’s puzzling failure to garner a nomination for the prestigious Anime of the Year award at the 8th Annual Crunchyroll Awards, despite its standout 2023 performance.
Many deemed One Piece indisputably 2023’s most monumental release, making its exclusion from this elite tier recognition confounding and borderline inexcusable.
This perceived snub stung its passionate fandom and potentially reflects lingering institutional bias against long-form mainstream battle series.
Crunchyroll’s 2024 Anime Awards Nominations Spark Debates on Recognition and Omissions
Crunchyroll’s 2024 Anime Awards nominations were revealed on January 18th, sparking discussions on which shows and movies were recognized or snubbed. Several fan favorites made the cut across the 32 categories, though some glaring omissions stood out.
The key Anime of the Year award saw six nominees – Bocchi the Rock!, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer’s Swordsmith Village arc, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, Oshi No Ko, and Vinland Saga season 2.
A diverse mix of sequels and new IP, but lacks 2023’s monumental One Piece arcs and other long-runners.
The full results will be announced on March 2nd at Crunchyroll’s live awards ceremony. Immediately after the nominations dropped, voting opened up to the public across all categories. So now fans have the chance to rally behind their preferred shows beyond just voicing opinions online.
While no awards process is without controversy, Crunchyroll does strive to celebrate the anime industry’s incredible output last year. Some feel that bypassing One Piece and other veterans demonstrates residual bias against long-running mainstream shonen.
However, the diverse slate also spotlights genres often overlooked. Debates around the nominations will likely continue heating up as the ceremony nears.
One Piece Fans Express Disappointment Over Anime of the Year Snub
The failure to nominate One Piece for Anime of the Year at the 2024 Crunchyroll Awards shocked its passionate fanbase. Especially after a monumental 2023 that saw the anime adapt highly anticipated manga arcs.
While undoubtedly a painful snub, One Piece did earn nominations across 7 other categories. So it wasn’t completely shut out. These included Best Animation, Best Fight Scene, Best Score, and more – recognizing One Piece’s stellar production values and moments.
Still, fans felt the series deserved more respect as a pillar of the anime industry after over 20 years. The lack of an overall series nomination has renewed accusations of bias against long-running mainstream hits like One Piece, Naruto, or Detective Conan.
Despite missing the top prize, One Piece’s legion of fans has rallied to promote and vote for its nominations in other areas.
Small consolations, but for a franchise of its size and legacy, the followers believe much bigger recognition should be coming its way during awards seasons.
However, this latest snub motivates them to celebrate One Piece’s achievements even louder.
One Piece Nominated in Multiple Categories
While One Piece fans were disheartened that the iconic anime missed out on a nomination for the top Anime of the Year prize at the 2024 Crunchyroll Awards, the series did manage to score nominations across 7 other categories.
The highlights include Best Continuing Series – a testament to One Piece’s ability to remain captivating after over 1,000 episodes spanning more than two decades. Along with Best Main Character for ever-popular protagonist Monkey D. Luffy.
Some of the other nominations where One Piece received recognition were Best Action, Best VO Performance in multiple languages (Mayumi Tanaka as Luffy in Japanese, Marta Moreno as Uta from One Piece Film Red in Castilian), and more.
So despite the snub from the central award, followers of Oda Eiichiro’s expansive pirate epic still have opportunities to show their support. Voting in all categories is now open until late February, with the award ceremony itself airing live globally on March 2nd.
