Dylan Hysen, Delaney Stovall, Michelle Anderer, & Sarah Potter look back on the good, the bad, and overall trends in the portrayals of queer characters in 2019 animation including in Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes, Young Justice: Outsiders, Craig of the Creek, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, gen:LOCK, Arthur, Rocko’s Modern Life, RWBY, BoJack Horseman, Tuca & Bertie, The Dragon Prince, Twelve Forever, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Miraculous Ladybug, Love Death + Robots, Hazbin Hotel, Big Mouth, Given, Stars Align, Sarazanmai, Carole & Tuesday, & Fruits Basket.

The results are in for our 2019 OVA-ies TV Animation Awards! After 645 votes cast, the winners in seven categories have been determined. Listen to the attached podcast to hear us announce the winners and analyze the results.

Steven Universe was the big winner of the night, taking home four of the seven awards, including the two biggest categories: Best Show and Best Episode. Infinity Train also had a big night with wins for Best New Show and Best Main Character for Tulip. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power won Best Supporting Character for Scorpia.

How the results were calculated: final placement was determined by an averaging of the percentages of the Open Vote and the Internal Vote of our patrons and staff, the latter of which was also weighed by number of shows watched in each category.

Best Animated Show of 2019

Winner: Steven Universe

Show Average% Open Vote Internal Steven Universe 38.27% 38.90% 37.63% She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 22.69% 22.80% 22.58% Tuca & Bertie 13.64% 4.70% 22.58% gen:LOCK 12.03% 9.00% 15.05% Infinity Train 8.03% 13.90% 2.15% BoJack Horseman 5.40% 10.80% 0.00%

Past winners: 2018-Steven Universe; 2017-Rick and Morty; 2016-Steven Universe

Best Animation Episode of 2019

Winner: “Change Your Mind”, Steven Universe

Episode Average% Open Vote Internal “Change Your Mind”, Steven Universe 37.74% 46.90% 28.57% “The Jelly Lakes”, Tuca & Bertie 20.90% 7.10% 34.69% “The Only Me I Know”, gen:LOCK 14.43% 10.50% 18.37% “121045” (Episode 1), The Promised Neverland 12.13% 11.00% 13.27% “Remember”, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 9.95% 14.80% 5.10% “Cleaved”, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 4.85% 9.70% 0.00%

Past winners: 2018-“A Single Pale Rose”, Steven Universe; 2017-”Tales from the Citadel”, Rick and Morty; 2016-“Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls”, Gravity Falls

Best Animation Main Character of 2019

Winner: Tulip, Infinity Train

Character Average% Open Vote Internal Tulip, Infinity Train 28.05% 15.90% 40.21% Steven, Steven Universe 23.11% 28.70% 17.53% Marinette, Miraculous Ladybug 19.55% 25.70% 13.40% Bertie, Tuca & Bertie 13.31% 6.00% 20.62% Ruby, RWBY 11.31% 18.50% 4.12% Glimmer, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 4.66% 5.20% 4.12%

Past winners: 2018-Marinette, Miraculous Ladybug; 2017-Star Butterfly, Star vs. the Forces of Evil; 2016-Pearl, Steven Universe

Best Animation Supporting Character of 2019

Winner: Scorpia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Character Average% Open Vote Internal Scorpia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 41.65% 24.20% 59.09% Spinel, Steven Universe 22.71% 35.20% 10.23% Amaya, The Dragon Prince 12.20% 15.30% 9.09% Speckle, Tuca & Bertie 9.74% 4.70% 14.77% Venomous, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes 8.66% 10.50% 6.82% One-One, Infinity Train 5.05% 10.10% 0.00%

Past winners: 2018-Lotor, Voltron: Legendary Defender; 2017-Diana Cavendish, Little Witch Academia; 2016-Peridot, Steven Universe

Best New Animated Show of 2019

Winner: Infinity Train

Show Average% Open Vote Internal Infinity Train 32.28% 40.20% 24.36% Tuca & Bertie 18.13% 11.90% 24.36% gen:LOCK 17.77% 16.30% 19.23% Carmen Sandiego 11.01% 15.60% 6.41% The Promised Neverland 10.99% 13.00% 8.97% Undone 9.83% 3.00% 16.67%

Past winners: 2018-She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Best Visuals for an Animated Show of 2019

Winner: Steven Universe

Show Average% Open Vote Internal Steven Universe 27.14% 35.30% 18.99% Undone 19.95% 3.20% 36.71% Carmen Sandiego 17.81% 14.10% 21.52% Love, Death + Robots 12.15% 12.90% 11.39% Hazbin Hotel 11.91% 17.50% 6.33% RWBY 11.08% 17.10% 5.06%

Past winners: 2017-Little Witch Academia & Samurai Jack

Best Music for an Animated Show of 2019

Winner: Steven Universe

Show Average% Open Vote Internal Steven Universe 44.37% 50.80% 37.93% RWBY 20.92% 22.30% 19.54% Carole & Tuesday 11.65% 7.20% 16.09% The Promised Neverland 8.67% 4.70% 12.64% Infinity Train 8.30% 7.40% 9.20% Hazbin Hotel 6.10% 7.60% 4.60%

Here are the nominees for the 2019 OVA-ies Awards, celebrating the best in television animation from the year. Listen to the nominations announcement podcast accompanying this post and check out the nominations below!

Vote for your favorites in 7 categories. Winners are chosen 50% by an open vote, 50% from our internal community of patrons & staff weighed by shows watched. Nominees were chosen internally by our patrons & staff, and you can see the nominations below! Winners will be revealed in a podcast at the end of December.

Steven Universe leads with 6 nominations, one in every category it was eligible for. Followed by Tuca & Bertie and Infinity Train with 5 nominations, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power with 4 nominations. gen:LOCK, The Promised Neverland, and RWBY had 3 nominations each.

Vote Here Now!

Voting closes at noon on Sunday December 29th. Google sign-in is required for voting. Voting is anonymous, the sign-in is just required to restrict voting to 1 per person.

Best Animated Show of 2019

• BoJack Horseman
• gen:LOCK
• Infinity Train
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
• Steven Universe
• Tuca & Bertie

Best Animation Episode of 2019

• “121045” (Episode 1), The Promised Neverland
• “Change Your Mind”, Steven Universe
• “Cleaved”, Star vs. the Forces of Evil
• “The Jelly Lakes”, Tuca & Bertie
• “The Only Me I Know”, gen:LOCK
• “Remember”, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Best Animation Main Character of 2019

• Bertie, Tuca & Bertie
• Glimmer, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
• Marinette, Miraculous Ladybug
• Ruby, RWBY
• Steven, Steven Universe
• Tulip, Infinity Train

Best Animation Supporting Character of 2019

• Amaya, The Dragon Prince
• One-One, Infinity Train
• Scorpia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
• Speckle, Tuca & Bertie
• Spinel, Steven Universe
• Venomous, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes

Best New Animated Show of 2019

• Carmen Sandiego
• gen:LOCK
• Infinity Train
• The Promised Neverland
• Tuca & Bertie
• Undone

Best Visuals for an Animated Show of 2019

• Carmen Sandiego
• Hazbin Hotel
• Love, Death + Robots
• RWBY
• Steven Universe
• Undone

Best Music for an Animated Show of 2019

• Carole & Tuesday
• Hazbin Hotel
• Infinity Train
• The Promised Neverland
• RWBY
• Steven Universe

Dylan Hysen & Ally Martin give their quick thoughts on all of Season 3 of The Dragon Prince.

Dylan Hysen & Alex Bonilla bring you all the animation news from this week’s 2019 San Diego Comic-Con!

Dylan Hysen, Beatriz Mourad, April Collins, & Ally Martin recap the entire Season 2 of The Dragon Prince, Book 2: Sky.

The results are in for our 2018 OVA-ies TV Animation Awards! After 11,700 votes cast (!) and deliberations from our expert panels, the winners in five categories have been determined. Listen to the attached podcast to hear us announce the winners and analyze the results.

Steven Universe was the big winner of the night, sweeping the two biggest categories: Best Show and Best Episode. Miraculous Ladybug won best main character for Marinette and Voltron: Legendary Defender won supporting character for Lotor while also having high voting turnout. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power won best new show while also being competitive in the other categories.

How the results were calculated: an average ranking was determined by averaging the placement in the Open Vote and what the Expert Panel ranked the order of the nominees. The specific percentage in the Open Vote did not factor in, only what place it finished (1st, 2nd, etc.) in the category’s vote. The Expert Panels were made up of people in our internal community who watch each show nominated in the specific category, and was factored into the final result to mitigate the popularity contest element.

Best Animated Show of 2018

Winner: Steven Universe

Show Average Rank Open Vote Expert Panel 1st: Steven Universe 1.5 2 (29%) 1 2nd: Voltron: Legendary Defender 2 1 (34%) 3 T-3rd: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 3.5 3 (23%) 4 T-3rd: BoJack Horseman 3.5 5 (6.7%) 2 5th: RWBY 5 4 (6.8%) 6 6th: Mysticons 5.5 6 (1%) 5

Best Animation Episode of 2018

Winner:  “A Single Pale Rose”, Steven Universe

Episode Average Rank Open Vote Expert Panel 1st: “A Single Pale Rose”, Steven Universe 1.5 2 (23%) 1 T-2nd: “Come Along With Me”, Adventure Time 3 3 (16%) 3 T-2nd: “The Black Paladins”, Voltron: Legendary Defender 3 1 (41%) 5 4th: “Free Churro”, BoJack Horseman 3.5 5 (3%) 2 5th: “Promise”, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 4 4 (15%) 4 6th: “The Princess and the Pirate”, Mysticons 6 6 (1%) 6

Best Animation Main Character of 2018

Winner: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miraculous Ladybug

Character Average Rank Open Vote Expert Panel 1st: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miraculous Ladybug 1.5 1 (28.4%) 2 T-2nd: Pearl, Steven Universe 3.5 3 (26%) 4 T-2nd: Catra, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 3.5 2 (28.3%) 5 T-2nd: Zarya Moonwolf, Mysticons 3.5 6 (1%) 1 5th: BoJack Horseman, BoJack Horseman 4 5 (8%) 3 6th: Star Butterfly, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 5 4 (9%) 6

 

Best Animation Supporting Character of 2018

Winner: Lotor, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Character Average Rank Open Vote Expert Panel 1st: Lotor, Voltron: Legendary Defender 1 1 (43%) 1 2nd: Lapis, Steven Universe 3 2 (20%) 4 T-3rd: Hawk Moth, Miraculous Ladybug 3.5 4 (12%) 3 T-3rd: Eclipsa, Star vs. the Forces of Evil 3.5 5 (11%) 2 5th: Scorpia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 4 3 (14%) 5 6th: Kitty Boon, Mysticons 6 6 (1%) 6

Best New Animated Show of 2018

Winner: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Show Average Rank Open Vote Expert Panel 1st: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 2 1 (40%) 3 2nd: Bloom Into You 3 5 (5%) 1 T-3rd: Craig of the Creek 4 6 (5%) 2 T-3rd: Final Space 4 4 (6%) 4 T-3rd: Hilda 4 3 (13%) 5 T-3rd: The Dragon Prince 4 2 (31%) 6

Here are the nominees for the 2018 OVA-ies Awards, celebrating the best in television animation from the year. Listen to the nominations announcement podcast accompanying this post and check out the nominations below!

Vote for your favorites in 5 categories. Winners are chosen 50% by an open vote weighed by shows watched, 50% from internal “expert” committees. Nominees were chosen internally by our patrons & staff, and you can see the nominations below! Winners will be revealed in a podcast at the end of December.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Steven Universe, & Mysticons lead with nominations in every category they were eligible for. Followed by BoJack Horseman and Voltron: Legendary Defender with nominations in all but one eligible category.

Vote Here Now!

Voting closes at noon on Friday December 28th. Google sign-in is required for voting. Voting is anonymous, the sign-in is just required to restrict voting to 1 per person.

Best Animated Show of 2018

• BoJack Horseman
• Mysticons
• RWBY
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
• Steven Universe
• Voltron: Legendary Defender

Best Animation Episode of 2018

• “A Single Pale Rose”, Steven Universe
• “The Black Paladins”, Voltron: Legendary Defender
• “Come Along With Me”, Adventure Time
• “Free Churro”, BoJack Horseman
• “The Princess and the Pirate”, Mysticons
• “Promise”, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Best Animation Main Character of 2018

• BoJack Horseman, BoJack Horseman
• Catra, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
• Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miraculous Ladybug
• Pearl, Steven Universe
• Star Butterfly, Star vs. the Forces of Evil
• Zarya Moonwolf, Mysticons

Best Animation Supporting Character of 2018

• Eclipsa, Star vs. the Forces of Evil
• Hawk Moth, Miraculous Ladybug
• Kitty Boon, Mysticons
• Lapis, Steven Universe
• Lotor, Voltron: Legendary Defender
• Scorpia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Best New Animated Show of 2018

• Bloom Into You
• Craig of the Creek
• The Dragon Prince
• Final Space
• Hilda
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Dylan Hysen, April Collins, John McKenna, & Sarah Dolman recap all of Season 1 of The Dragon Prince.