Liza Soberano, Ylona Garcia to grace 2024 Anime Awards
FILIPINO movie and television actress Liza Soberano and former Pinoy Big Brother alumna Ylona Garcia will be among the talents presenting in the upcoming Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2024 to be held in Tokyo, Japan in March.
Soberano, coming off the heels of her lauded performance in her first Hollywood movie “Lisa Frankenstein,” is no stranger to anime, being the official Filipino language voice of Alexandra Trese in the Netflix-produced anime version of the Filipino comic book “Trese,” which she considers as her ‘career highlight.’
Meanwhile, Garcia, now based in the US, is coming off from her stint at the Asia Pacific Predator League held in Pasay City, where she performed “Entertain Me”, which was released in partnership with the tactical shooting game “Valorant.”
They will join a roster of Japanese and international talent to grace the only awards honoring the creators, musi- ciansand performers across the anime industry.
These include Japanese actress, singer and model Chiaki Kuriyama, Grammywinning pop star Megan Thee Stallion, “Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse” producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and director Joaquim dos Santos, “Ms. Marvel” Actress Iman Vellani, National Football League player DeMarcus Lawrence, Japanese TV personality So Takei, and Grammy-nominated artists Labrinth and Porter Robinson.
Renowned anime theme composers Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto will be performing the 2024 Anime Awards theme song, while Shing02 with OMA and Spin Master A-1 will be performing the opening theme song of the anime Samurai Champloo, “battlecry,” in celebration of the series’ 20th year. Japanese girl group YOASOBI will also be making an appearance ahead of their Coachella 2024 set, as well as Japanese songstress LiSA. Voice actress Sally Amaki and entertainer Jon Kabira will be hosting the awards ceremony to be held at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo.
The awards have a two-round process, where a panel of judges across the anime industry selects six nominees in the first round of voting, while the same panel, as well as global anime fans, will decide the awards in the second round of voting.
Bocchi the Rock, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, Oshi no Ko, and Vinland Saga Season 2 are all vying for the Anime of the Year honors.
The event will be streamed live on March 2 at 5 p.m. Philippine Time 6 p.m. Japan Standard Time on Crunchyroll’s YouTube and Twitch account.