For the record, the loss of humanity is just as impactful as gaining humanity. I prefer the darker side myself as it's more relatable to real life. I liked Frieren a lot, but I still like Solo Leveling more. It sounds like you just prefer stories about butterflies and rainbows, and that's fine. You do you. Give me that gritty darkness with a character overcoming anxiety, fear, and PTSD yet still determined to perfect himself and save those he cares about no matter the challenge. I connect more with the PTSD perfectionist than a practically immortal elf with no humanity.

I don't think any of the comments here said SL has a better story than Frieren. However, there are plenty of comments that say SL has no story and that's both wrong and insulting. And just because a good story has flawed characters doesn't mean a fantasy world where the main character is basically perfect or trying to attain perfection is any less enjoyable to watch. Plus, I don't seeing the category "Best Story". Don't get me wrong, Frieren definitely has a better story by definition, but this isn't an English class. SL still has a good story. It may have borrowed it from several other anime, but that's part of what makes it so good.

I don't know that I'd call Frieren a masterpiece, but it was very good. I do think it's offensive to say that only mature individuals respect it though. Even if Solo Leveling is just a combination of other anime, they executed it very well. To say otherwise is disrespectful to the creators and everyone who voted for it. I'd argue that they both deserved it, but because ADHD is so prevalent these days, the slice of life genre can't compete with a shounen anime like Solo Leveling. It has nothing to do with either of them deserving it, but with which one retained people's attention. If Frieren was fast paced, it very well could've won, but that would probably ruin the story. I consider myself a fan of filmography and art, yet I still preferred Solo Leveling myself. Both are great though. A great year for anime lovers.

I respectfully disagree with most of this article. Having never heard of Solo Leveling before the anime came out, I thought it was a fantastic mashup of all my favorite anime. Frieren, I had never heard of either, but people seemed to like it so I watched that too.

I like a nice slice of life anime as much as the next person, and I thought it was really good. I don't know that I'd call Frieren a masterpiece, but it was very good. Slow at first, but it picks up the pace a bit. The characters are mildly interesting, but the unrequited love story and often sad tone just felt boring. I like a good time travel consequence plotline (Frieren's is just in the forward direction only), but it's not new, surprising, and doesn't have much shock value.

Solo Leveling had plenty of shock value, nuances, and intricacies that kept me intrigued the whole time. Between them figuring out the rules of the first dungeon (despite them being dumb and slow on the uptake), the concept of a video game style system that only he can see (what kind of things can he do with it and why only him?), and a nice underdog story, I was completely interested. I'm not saying these things are completely new, quite the opposite, but they were put together in such a way that is both satisfying and still somehow scratches a bit of that nostalgia itch from other series.

Now, I haven't read either story, and I don't plan to. Which is all the more reason my opinion is probably less biased. These are the anime awards, not the manga or manwa awards. The anime should speak for themselves, and I think the voting reflected that properly. I don't think there was any issue with the voting system. Maybe Frieren is a better overall series than Solo Leveling, but from what I've seen of their 1st season of the animes, Solo Leveling is the winner. I would give Solo Leveling's 1st season a 9/10 and Frieren a 7/10. Regardless, I'm excited to watch more of both series.