Attack on Titan studio’s new anime awards are not a reaction to the Crunchyroll Awards

On July 4, during the Production I.G x Wit Studio Industry Panel held at Anime Expo 2026, Wit Studio founder George Wada announced a new anime awards show called Tokyo Anime Next, which will take place Oct. 30 to Nov. 2. According to Wada, the goal of this initiative is “to judge, recognize, and give awards to anime in Japan, by the Japanese people.” It’s a bold statement that was quickly picked up by both fans and outlets and interpreted as confrontational, especially toward the famous Crunchyroll Anime Awards. But is this really the first “Japanese” anime award?