It’s go time!
From the beginning, it seemed destined for Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia, arguably the two most popular anime of the moment, to meet in the finals. They were the top seeds in their respective regions (Shounen / Popular and 2019 Anime) and comfortably made their way to the finals. Here’s how the two series got here, both in the full bracket and match-by-match for the championship competitors:
My Hero Academia
Round 1: def. Neon Genesis Evangelion, 77.7% to 22.3%
Round 2: def. Code Geass, 57.4% to 42.6%
Quarterfinals: def. Attack on Titan, 62.4% to 37.6%
Semifinals: def. Kimi ni Todoke, 57.4% to 42.6%
Demon Slayer
Play-in: def. We Never Learn, 77.8% to 22.2%
Round 1: def. Kaguya-sama: Love is War, 73.6% to 26.4%
Round 2: def. Fruits Basket (2019), 64.2% to 35.8%
Quarterfinals: def. The Promised Neverland, 70.0% to 30.0%
Semifinals: def. Kakegurui, 80.5% to 19.5%
Just judging from the numbers, it looks like Demon Slayer should win this contest, but…
A deeper look would reveal that when it comes to total votes, My Hero Academia has nearly twice as many as Demon Slayer. Despite the wonderful series that the latter faced on its way to the finals, MHA had the harder path. Code Geass, Attack on Titan, and Kimi ni Todoke were all extremely popular entrants for our voters, trashing their own competition until running into Hero, and yet, none could get past our teenage superheroes.
There’s a reason My Hero Academia was the number one overall seed. But with the way Demon Slayer has wiped the floor with its competition, this final match-up should be the closest championship we’ve ever had!
Voting closes on the blog at 7:00 a.m. ET Thursday, but remember, you can also vote through our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts! We’ll reveal the winner of the tournament on Friday!
