The anime fans were eagerly waiting for the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards result. Anime like Jujutsju Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Oshi no Ko, etc., dominated the award ceremony with multiple award wins. Jujutsu Kaisen won the most, with eleven awards. Chainsaw Man season one had a few nominations, but it could not perform as the fans had hoped. Denji and Pochita’s friendship was not strong enough.
But there was a certain category that the fans had hoped for a different result. During the award ceremony, Jujutsu Kaisen won the Best Opening Sequence award. Even though fans voted it to be the best, many believe that it would have been given to Chainsaw Man. Chainsaw Man’s opening theme broke a record that even One Piece failed to achieve.
Chainsaw Man’s Opening Theme is Pure Gold
Chainsaw Man season one had mixed reviews, but the opening theme was liked by all. The opening theme is named KICK BACK and was sung by Kenshi Yonezu in 2022. It was released as a single track and soon became quite popular. It became the first Japanese song to receive the gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, popularly known as RIAA. The RIAA certification signifies that the track has sold at least 500,000 units.
KICK BACK became the first and only song written and performed in Japanese to achieve it. The journey has been nothing short of phenomenal. Kenshi Yonezu became the first Japanese artist to get featured on Spotify’s Global Top 50 Chart, thanks to KICK BACK’s successful run. People recognized the song at once after hearing it as Chainsaw Man’s opening theme.
One Piece has been running for 25 years and had several great opening themes, yet none of them reached KICK BACK’s level of success. RIAA is a prestigious award, and the fans find it hard to believe that Jujutsu Kaisen triumphed over Chainsaw Man in the Opening Theme Sequence category at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
Chainsaw Man Did Not Have Enough Gold To Dethrone Jujutsu Kaisen
The 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards saw notable celebrities take the stage, including three-time Grammy award winner Megan Thee Stallion, professional wrestler Mercedes Varnado, Iman Vellani, etc. Jujutsu Kaisen won eleven awards, and no anime came close to its level of success. Gege Akutami’s magnum opus won The Anime of the Year award for the second time after winning in 2021.
Where Our Blue Is by Tatsuya Kitani won the Best Opening Sequence. It is the opening theme to Jujutsu Kaisen season two. Fans were not expecting it to win, especially after Chainsaw Man‘s opening theme became popular worldwide and won the RIAA. Chainsaw Man won the Best New Series Award, but fans were expecting one more to the list.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season-2 OP-1 “WHERE OUR BLUE IS/AO NO SUMIKA” wins “BEST OPENING SEQUENCE” award at Crunchyroll Anime Awardspic.twitter.com/vhbxCqOuDV
— Jujutsu Kaisen (@Go_Jover) March 2, 2024
Crunchyroll Anime Awards is based on a voting system by the fans. So, it is somewhat affected by how big the fanbase is. More fans will help the anime get more votes. Nonetheless, it is a great achievement on both the anime’s part. It will be interesting to see how either anime performs the next time they come face-to-face.
