Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle was quite easily one of the biggest highlights of 2025, in terms of anime releases. It was released in July and became an instant hit not only in Japan but also worldwide. Considering the quality, Demon Slayer received a good rating from fans, but it was definitely not the best movie of the year based on fan ratings. The latest anime awards, dubbed the Anithing Awards, from South Korea saw Demon Slayer beaten by its biggest rival in 2025.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle nominated for Massive Award
The Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie could end up winning a Golden Globe.
During this event, Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc ended up on top and it managed to beat Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle convincingly. Not only that, but Demon Slayer's Shinobu, who was a major highlight of the film, was also removed from the list of the top three female characters of 2025. In the meantime, Reze, from Chainsaw Man, was the most popular female character.
Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc Beat Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle At The Anithing 2025 Awards
There are a lot of big anime awards coming up, now that 2025 is officially over. Recently, South Korea revealed the results of its biggest anime awards, called the Anithing Awards. This event gives awards for titles such as the best anime of the year. This category includes TV anime, along with anime movies.
You're misunderstanding, Tanjiro. I only despise the weak. I only spit on weaklings. Yes. Weaknesses make me sick. It is the law of nature that they are wounded away.
Of course, with the inclusion of an anime movie, most fans expected to see the year's biggest box office anime movie, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, to take the top spot. However, it was beaten by its biggest rival in 2025, Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc. Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc was better received by fans worldwide. Topping Demon Slayer at these awards, this is a huge win for a much smaller franchise.
My Hero Academia beat both series to the top spot
Chainsaw Man's win over Demon Slayer is definitely impressive, but it's not the only series to pull it off. Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc wasn't actually number one best anime at the 2025 Anithing Awards. Instead, the big winner this year was none other than My Hero Academia. My Hero Academia Season 8 was phenomenal, and thanks to its immense quality, it was able to beat two huge blockbusters at these awards. You could definitely say that My Hero Academia Season 8 was the best anime of last year as a whole.
Chainsaw Man's Reze was the best female character of 2025
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Those like Shinobu didn't make it into the top 3
Chainsaw Man's victory over Demon Slayer at the Anithing South Korean Awards 2025 goes beyond just winning the number 2 spot in the Best Anime category. As fans look to the best female character of 2025, Chainsaw Man once again dominated Demon Slayerdespite both series having a very strong cast of female characters.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle had Shinobu Kochou as its main female highlight in the film. Shinobu, Hashira the Insect, took on one of the biggest threats in the movie, Doma, and while she lost her fight, she still put up a great fight. Despite all that, however, she did not make the top three at the Anithing Awards for the Best Female Character category. Meanwhile, Chainsaw Man's Reze dominated there. Reze was voted the best female character of 2025and fans can definitely see why. Reze, the bomb devil, proved to be an incredible character, and her fight, as well as the complex connection with Denji, was one of the most memorable points of the 2025 anime. Chainsaw Man continues to show how superior its female cast is to the average shonen series.
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Shinobu was also beaten by Kaoruko Wagyuri from The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity and Marin Kitagawa from My Dress Up Darling. This is definitely a huge loss for Demon Slayer, especially as the other two series are much smaller compared to it. Fans are definitely wondering how Shinobu Kocho managed to lose this badly.
Demon Slayer's Akaza beat Denji in the Best Male Character category
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A small win for the Demon Slayer
While Chainsaw Man dominated in the Best Female Character category, Demon Slayer had a slight win against this series in the Best Male Character category. In this category, Akaza, the main villain of Demon Slayer Infinity: Castle, came in third.
In the meantime, Chainsaw Man's main character, Denji, was nowhere to be seen. Of course, Denji is an interesting character and had a big highlight last year, but Akaza proved to be a monumental character that continued to bring more fans to theaters last year.
Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc was better rated, but Demon Slayer remains the bigger success
It's no secret that Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc has been a phenomenon when it comes to accolades and fan ratings. For example, on MAL, Chainsaw Man became the highest-rated anime of 2025. In fact, this rating was so high that the film became the second highest rated anime of all time, just behind Frieren. While Demon Slayer was definitely well received, its ratings were nowhere near as high on those platforms.
But while fan ratings and awards are nice, what really matters at the end of the day is how much money each anime makes. Chainsaw Man did incredibly well at the box office, though its success was nowhere near as great as Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle.
To appease the spirits of those it killed, and to ensure it takes no more victims, I will swing my blade down and mercilessly tear off the head of any demon! But I will not belittle those who regret their actions and suffer for the things they did as demons. Because demons were once human. Because they were like me.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle was so successful that it went on to become Japan's number one box office hit of all timesurpassing the previous record held by another Demon Slayer film. Not only that, but Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle went on to crack the top ten biggest box office grossers of 2025, and was the seventh most successful film of the year.
Clearly, Demon Slayer set a new standard for anime movies in 2025. Chainsaw Man's impact in that regard is second to none. Overall, it can still be said that Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is still the best movie of 2025.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is out in theaters now. Fans who don't want to wait for the movies to release can check out the manga on Manga Plus. Meanwhile, for the anime, the series currently has 4 anime seasons. These anime seasons can all be found on Crunchyroll. However, the rest of the series will be animated into films, which fans will have to wait for the theatrical release to see, depending on their country.
