The seventh annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards are only a few days away! Since Western-based award ceremonies and festivals tend to underrepresent Japanese animated works, the Anime Awards are a welcome vehicle for putting anime in an international spotlight. Hell, a ton of presenters are coming from Hollywood. The high-profile nature of both the Japanese and American guests at this year’s awards make it Crunchyroll’s most ambitious endeavor yet. And we haven’t even approached how the Anime Awards will be streaming live from Tokyo.
But at this point, fans hoping to stream the event might take a moment of contemplative pause. Isn’t Tokyo fourteen hours ahead of the US eastern time zone? And seventeen ahead of the Pacific? When there’s not Daylight Savings, as is the case now, because Japan is kind enough not to change the clocks on their poor populace? No matter where you live in North America, it’s a pretty major time difference. So how do you going to watch this thing?
Where to watch the Anime Awards
You’d think you might be able to stream the Anime Awards on Crunchyroll. After all, even though they’ve been dipping their toes deeper and deeper into licensing and merchandising, Crunchyroll is primarily a streaming service. But you’d be wrong!
Instead, the Anime Awards will be streaming on Crunchyroll’s YouTube and Twitch channels. The problem is, Crunchyroll has at least four distinct official YouTube channels. I’d put my money on this one, but you might need to do some clicking around. In other words, I’d recommend watching it on Twitch.
It will also be streaming on Crunchyroll’s website at the sub-heading crunchyroll.com/animeawards. But not the app! Don’t go to the app!
When to watch the Anime Awards
Ah, yes, this is the real question. If the Crunchyroll Anime Awards ceremony is streaming live from Tokyo, when is it streaming in North American time? Are they doing the presentation in the morning in Tokyo … or will it air in the morning over here?
For all of us in North America who are decidedly not morning people, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s the former. The award show will begin airing in Tokyo at 6:30 PM Japan time on March 4, 2023. That means they will start at 4:30 AM Eastern, or 1:30 AM Pacific. Honestly, I think the west coast night owls among you all have the better set-up.
I assume that Crunchyroll does not expect the vast majority of its audience to wake up ungodly early or stay up incredibly late. Which means that the Anime Awards will more likely than not be available to stream after the ceremony is over. Streams of previous awards ceremonies are still available to watch on Crunchyroll’s Twitch account.
So grab a donut, get some coffee, and enjoy an awards show in the morning for a change. As someone who’s had to stay up late to cover other award shows, this sounds quite lovely to me.
(Featured image: Crunchyroll)
