"blurb": "Finalizing the Character Design nominees is always a tough nut to crack, acknowledging both creative stylization and excellency in animation & models. Everything was in contention, from hot men in *Delico’s Nursery*, to cute girls in *Hirogaru Sky Precure*, to goofy Pokemon from *Poketoon 2024*, to passionate mechas from *Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern*, but only a few could make the cut. Ultimately, the survivors were the flamboyant and colorful masculinity of *Bucchigiri*, the outfit diversity and impressive rigging of *Girl’s Band Cry*’s models, the clever use of outfits and make-up to showcase hierarchy in *Kusuriya no Hitorigoto*, the sheer diversity of body types and art styles present in *NegaPosi Angler*’s designs, and the gooey attributes and range of transformations from *Puniru wa Kawaii Slime*. There was a decent overlap between the jury discussions and public nominations this year: *Dungeon Meshi* ends up as jury winner through its feast of monster and human designs while *Make Heroine ga Oosugiru*’s adorkable expressivity makes the cast feel alive. Both *Dandadan* and *Sousou no Frieren* were also praised by the jury, and even the curveball *Oshi no Ko S2* features fun alternative theater outfits. The ranking was determined through a set of metrics, including animation friendliness i.e the mutability of lines and shapes for expression, recognizability of silhouetted forms, coloring and shading, costumes and accessories, and an overall perspective on how these designs reflected the personalities and narrative of the characters. The support for *Dungeon Meshi* was broad, leaving the battle for second place up to a close race between *Puniru wa Kawaii Slime*, *Kusuriya no Hitorigoto* and *NegaPosi Angler*.",
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