Les Daruma 2025 Winners and Nominees at Japan Expo

The winner list of Les Daruma 2025 are out, featuring some of the most popular names in the anime and manga industry.

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Jul 9, 2025 2:43 PM

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Every year during Japan Expo, the Daruma Awards are presented to select manga and anime in a few categories. The award ceremony is popularly known as “Les Daruma,” and it originated in Paris, France. During Japan Expo 2024, Yuto Suzuki’s Sakamoto Days won the Daruma for Best Manga award, while Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End won the Daruma for Best Anime.

Initially, the nominees are selected by the Selection Committee, which is composed of professionals and specialists. However, the winner is decided by a voting system where fans cast their votes. In 2025, the voting lines were open from June 6 to June 17, 2025. Like the previous year, Japan Expo 2025 held the Les Daruma on Friday, July 4, 2025. Here is the list of winners and nominees from each category of Les Daruma 2025.

Daruma for Best Action Manga

Kindergarten Wars (You Chiba) – Winner

Sou Bou Tei (Kazuhiro Fujita)
Venus Wars (Yoshikazu Yasuhiko)
The JOJOLands (Hirohiko Araki)
In The Sakamichi Saddle (Wataru Watanabe)
Nine Peaks (Tetsuhiro Hirakawa)
Out (Tatsuya Iguchi & Makoto Mizuta)
Magilumiere Co. Ltd. (Sekka Iwata & Yu Aoki)

Daruma for Best Action Anime

DAN DA DAN (Science Saru) – Winner

Dragon Ball DAIMA (Toei Animation)
Solo Leveling (A-1 Pictures)
Kaiju No. 8 (Production I.G)
Wind Breaker (CloverWorks)
BUCCHIGIRI?! (MAPPA)
The Elusive Samurai (CloverWorks)
SandLand (Sunrise)

Daruma for Best Romance Manga

She Wasn’t a Guy (Sumiko Arai) – Winner

Welcome Back, Alice (Shuzo Oshimi)
The Dangers in My Heart (Norio Sakurai)
How I Married an Amagami Sister (Marcey Naito)
Honey Lemon Soda (Mayu Murata)
Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! (Kai Ikada)
Smoking behind the supermarket with You (Jinushi)
My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999 (Mashiro)

Daruma for Best Romance Anime

Blue Box (Telecom Animation Film) – Winner

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! (A-1 Pictures)
Pseudo Harem (Nomad)
A sign of affection (Aijado)
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian (Doga Kobo)
Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! (Blade & Silver Link)
The Dangers in My Heart Season 2 (Shin-Ei Animation)
Criminal Engagement (Studio Deen)

Daruma for Best Suspense Manga

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth (Uoto) – Winner

Les Daruma 2025 Orb on the movements of the earth

Crescent Moon – Dance With The Monster (Kazuhiro Fujita)
#DRCL Midnight Children (Shin’ichi Sakamoto)
The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins (Taizan5)
Tokyo Cannabis (Yuto Inai)
The Wergelder (Hiroaki Samura)
The JOJOLands (Hirohiko Araki)
To A New You (Shinji Mito)

Daruma for Best Suspense Anime

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth (Madhouse) – Winner

Oshi no Ko Season 2 (Doga Kobo)
Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season (SHAFT)
Classroom of the Elite Season 3 (Lerche)
Re:ZERO Season 3 (WHITE FOX)
Trillion Game (Madhouse)
Dead Dead Demon’s DeDeDeDe Destruction (Production +h.)
No Longer Rangers (Yostar Pictures)

Daruma for Best Slice Of Life Manga

Smoking behind the supermarket with you (Jinushi) – Winner

Les Daruma 2025 Smoking behind the supermarket with you

The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting (Tsukiya)
My life in 24 frames per second (Rintaro)
Medalist (TSURUMAIKADA)
The Four Yuzuki Brothers (Shizuki Fujisawa)
Kore Kaito Shine (Minoru Toyoda)
Tokyo, these days (Taiyo Matsumoto)
No Reaction (Keigo Shinzo)

Daruma for Best Slice of Life Anime

Look Back (Studio Durian) – Winner

GIRLS BAND CRY (Toei Animation)
Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets The Wise Wolf (Passionate)
Blue Box (Telecom Animation Film)
A sign of affection (Aijado)
Dead Dead Demon’s DeDeDeDe Destruction (Production +h.)
Ranma ½ (MAPPA)
My Deer Friend Nokotan (Wit Studio)

Daruma for Best New Manga

Kindergarten Wars (You Chiba) – Winner

Sou Bou Tei (Kazuhiro Fujita)
Honey Lemon Soda (Mayu Murata)
The JOJOLands (Hirohiko Araki)
In The Sakamichi Saddle (Wataru Watanabe)
Nine Peaks (Tetsuhiro Hirakawa)
Smoking behind the supermarket with You (Jinushi)
Tokyo Cannabis (Yuto Inai)

Daruma for Best Production

Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin (Yoshikazu Yasuhiko) – Winner

Les Daruma 2025 Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin

Soul Eater (Atsushi Ohkubo)
Slam Dunk (Takehiko Inoue)
The Promised Neverland – Edition Grace Field (Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu)
New Grappler Baki (Keisuke Itagaki)
Dai Dark (Hayashida Q)
Carnage (Junji Ito)
Crescent Moon – Dance With the Monster (Kazuhiro Fujita)

Daruma for Best Opening

DAN DA DAN (“Otonoke” – Creepy Nuts) – Winner

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (“Kotoba ni Sezu Tomo” – SIX LOUNGE)
Oshi no Ko Season 2 (“Fatal” – GEMN)
Blue Box (“Same Blue” – Official Hige DANdism)
ONE PIECE (“Assu!” – Hiroshi Kitadani)
Mashle: Magic and Muscles Season 2 (“Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” – Creepy Nuts)
Orb: On the Movement of the Earth (“Kaijuu” – Sakanaction)
Mushoku Tensei (“On the Front Line” – History)

Daruma for Best Ending

Kaiju No. 8 (“Nobody” – OneRepublic) – Winner

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War (“MONOCHROME” – Suisou)
Dragon Ball DAIMA (“NAKAMA” – Al & Zedd)
Orb: On the Movement of the Earth (“Aporia” – Yorushika)
Oshi no Ko Season 2 (“Burning” – Hitsujibungaku)
My Hero Academia Season 7 (“Tsubomi” – Omoinotake)
ONE PIECE (“Dear Sunrise” – Ootsuki Maki)
DAN DA DAN (“TAIDADA” – Zutto Mayonaka de li no ni.)

Daruma for Best Feature Film

Look Back (Studio Durian) – Winner

Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram (TMS)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom (Sunrise)
Tunnel to Summer (CLAP)
SPY x Family Code: White (CloverWorks & Wit Studio)
My Hero Academia: You’re Next (Bones)
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (Sola Entertainment)
BLUE GIANT (NUT)

Daruma From the French Touch

Silence (Yoann Vornière) – Winner

Urbance (Joel Dos Reis Viegas)
Instinct (Inoxtag, Basile Monnot, Charles Compain)
The Heirs of Agione (TPIU)
Cyfandir Chronicles (Naokuren, Tony Valente)
Run to Heaven (Toan)
Hajime! – Teddy Riner, the rise of a Judo Legend (Third World, Topher)
Free Quest (Reno Lemaire, Neo)

Heritage Daruma

Kojirô of the Fûma clan (Masami Kurumada) – Winner

Mechanical Apple (Osamu Tezuku)
Spriggan (Hiroshi Takashige & Ryoji Minagawa)
Akumakun (Shigeru Mizuki)
Rude Boy (Jiro Taniguchi)
Venus Wars (Yoshikazu Yasuhiko)
Chibi Maruko Chan (Momoko Sakura)
Pineapple Army (Naoki Urasawa)

Daruma for Best Original Soundtrack

Blue Giant (Hiromi Uehara) – Winner

Solo Leveling (Hiroyuki Sawano)
Gluttons & Dragons (Yasunori Mitsuda)
My Hero Academia Season 7 (Yuki Hayashi)
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Yoshiaki Fujisawa)
DAN DA DAN (Keisuke Ushio)
Oshi no Ko Season 2 (Takuro Iga)
GIRLS BAND CRY (Kenji Tamai & Yusuke Tanaka)

Daruma for Best Drawing

#DRCL Midnight Children (Shin’ichi Sakamoto) – Winner

The JOJOLands (Hirohiko Araki)
Sou Bou Tei (Kazuhiro Fujita)
Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin (Yoshikazu Yasuhiko)
Dragon Hunt Tribe (Shiro Kuroi)
Versus (One, Kyotaro Azuma)
The Wergelder (Hiroaki Samura)
New Grappler Baki (Keisuke Itagaki)

Daruma for Best Screenplay

Orb: On the Movement of the Earth (Uoto) – Winner

Les Daruma 2025 orb on the movements of the earth Uoto

The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins (Taizan5)
Tokyo Cannabis (Yuto Inai)
Nine Peaks (Tetsuhiro Hirakawa)
Welcome Back, Alice (Shuzo Oshimi)
The JOJOLands (Hirohiko Araki)
Pineapple Army (Naoki Urasawa)
Crescent Moon – Dance With the Monster (Kazuhiro Fujita)

Daruma for Best Anime