Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director

The Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director is an above-the-line award given at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards since its third edition in 2019. It is given for the best directing in anime films and series from the previous year. Winners are determined through a combined voting process by judges and public voting.^[1]

Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Director
Awarded for	Best directing in anime films and series of the previous year
Country	United States Japan
First award	Masaaki Yuasa — Devilman Crybaby (2019)
Currently held by	Keiichiro Saito — Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (2024)
Most wins	Masaaki Yuasa (2)
Most nominations	Yuichiro Hayashi (3)
Website	Crunchyroll Anime Awards

Science SARU's co-founder Masaaki Yuasa first won the award in 2019 for his direction of Devilman Crybaby, which also awarded the second time in 2021 for his direction of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, the first anime director to win multiple awards and currently the oldest director to win.^[2][3] Yuichiro Hayashi holds the record for the most nominations—also the most nominations without a win—with 3 for his direction of the fourth season of Attack on Titan.

2 out of 7 anime series won the Best Director category together with Anime of the Year category, the highest award.

In the latest edition in 2025, Keiichiro Saito won the award for his direction of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, the youngest recipient to win at the age of 32.^[4][5]

Winners and nominees

2010s

Year	Director(s)	Anime
2018 (3rd)[2]
	Masaaki Yuasa	Devilman Crybaby
	Atsuko Ishizuka	A Place Further than the Universe
	Hiroko Utsumi	Banana Fish
	Yo Moriyama	Megalo Box
	Yohei Suzuki	Planet With
	Taichi Ishidate	Violet Evergarden
2019 (4th)[6][7]
	Tetsurō Araki Masashi Koizuka	Attack on Titan (season 3)
	Kiyotaka Suzuki	Babylon
	Shinichirō Watanabe Motonobu Hori	Carole & Tuesday
	Yuzuru Tachikawa	Mob Psycho 100 II (season 2)
	Kunihiko Ikuhara	Sarazanmai
	Shuhei Yabuta	Vinland Saga

2020s

Year	Director(s)	Anime
2020 (5th)[3]
	Masaaki Yuasa	Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
	Yuzuru Tachikawa	Deca-Dence
	Hiro Kaburagi	Great Pretender
	Mamoru Hatakeyama	Kaguya-sama: Love is War? (season 2)
	Sunghoo Park	Jujutsu Kaisen
	Takashi Sano	Tower of God
2021 (6th)[8][9]
	Baku Kinoshita	Odd Taxi
	Yuichiro Hayashi	Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 1 (season 4)
	Yo Moriyama	Megalobox 2: Nomad
	Sunghoo Park	Jujutsu Kaisen
	Shingo Natsume	Sonny Boy
	Shin Wakabayashi	Wonder Egg Priority
2021/2022 (7th)[10][11]
	Haruo Sotozaki	Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc (season 2 cour 2)
	Yuichiro Hayashi	Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 (season 4 cour 2)
	Hiroyuki Imaishi	Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
	Shingo Adachi	Lycoris Recoil
	Yōsuke Hatta	Ranking of Kings (cour 2)
	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Spy × Family
2022/2023 (8th)[12][13]
	Shōta Goshozono	Jujutsu Kaisen (season 2)
	Yuichiro Hayashi	Attack on Titan: The Final Season The Final Chapters Special 1 (season 4 cour 3)
	Keiichiro Saito	Bocchi the Rock!
	Ryu Nakayama	Chainsaw Man
	Hirotaka Mori	Heavenly Delusion
	Daisuke Hiramaki	Oshi no Ko
2023/2024 (9th)[14][15]
	Keiichiro Saito	Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
	Fūga Yamashiro	Dandadan
	Yoshihiro Miyajima	Delicious in Dungeon
	Haruo Sotozaki	Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc (season 4)
	Megumi Ishitani	One Piece Fan Letter
	Norihiro Naganuma	The Apothecary Diaries

Records

Director

Masaaki Yuasa holds the record for the most wins.

Director	Wins	Nominations	Anime
Masaaki Yuasa	2		Devilman Crybaby, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Keiichiro Saito	1	2	Bocchi the Rock!, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Haruo Sotozaki			Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Entertainment District Arc, Hashira Training Arc)
Yuichiro Hayashi	0	3	Attack on Titan (The Final Season Part 1, The Final Season Part 2, The Final Season The Final Chapters Special 1)
Yo Moriyama		2	Megalo Box, Megalobox 2: Nomad
Sunghoo Park			Jujutsu Kaisen (Season 1 cour 1, Season 1 cour 2)
Yuzuru Tachikawa			Deca-Dence, Mob Psycho 100 (Season 2)

Age

Superlative	Recipient	Anime	Age
Oldest winner	Masaaki Yuasa	Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!	55
Oldest nominee
Youngest winner	Keiichiro Saito	Frieren: Beyond Journey's End	32
Youngest nominee		Bocchi the Rock!	31