The anime craze is gaining momentum in India, marking a transformative year in 2023. What was once a dispersed community of anime enthusiasts has now earned recognition, legitimacy, and a dedicated platform to showcase its passion.
This surge in enthusiasm can be attributed not only to the appeal of anime itself but also to several contributing factors. The anime-exclusive digital platform Crunchyroll has significantly expanded its library, while popular shows find a new home on OTT channels like Netflix and Prime Video. The influx of international players, such as KC Global Media and Anime Times, entering the Indian market further fuels the anime phenomenon. Additionally, influential figures like actor Tiger Shroff actively promoting anime, along with theatre chains hosting anime film festivals and broadcasters localising content, have all played crucial roles in elevating the anime experience in the country.
Anime content boom
In India, the anime scene is witnessing a significant transformation, with broadcasters and digital platforms catering to different age groups and preferences.
- Crunchyroll offers over 700 anime titles – which is close to 7,000 hours of content – in India. The platform’s global monthly subscribers stand at 12 million plus, and is seeing a healthy growing community of anime fans in India, revealed Crunchyroll director – marketing Akshat Sahu.
- Streaming giants like Netflix and Prime Video keep adding to their anime slates.
- International company KC Global Media Entertainment offers Animax’s content in India on Prime Video.
- In December 2023, Japan’s streaming service Anime Times also launched in India on Prime Video, bringing its wide array of the latest anime movies and TV shows to the country.
- Warner Bros. Discovery’s kids broadcast channel Cartoon Network started airing My Hero Academia and other shows and films from the Dragon Ball franchise in 2023.
- Another Indian kids broadcaster Sony YAY! started airing the highly popular anime series Naruto.
Multilingual appeal: Breaking language barriers
For hard-core anime lovers, dubbed anime would be a big no-no; but the industry cannot ignore the demand and the massive potential that regional language content holds in India. Dubbed content has helped broadcasters and digital platforms penetrate a wider audience.
- Sony YAY! airs Naruto and Cartoon Network airs My Hero Academia and Dragon Ball Z Kai, in five languages.
- Crunchyroll, which already offered shows and movies in English subs and dubs, introduced Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubs.
Crunchyroll localised content in regional languages in India to make it culturally more relevant, stated Sahu. In an earlier interview, he had revealed to Animation Xpress that they had been seeing “high traction on Hindi dubbed anime series as compared to English.” Since introducing Tamil dubs in July 2023, they’re seeing a surge in interest in Tamil-dubbed anime as well, he had said.
“We have observed a notable increase in subscriptions and user engagement on our platform,” said Sahu. “The diverse range of anime content combined with our efforts to bring anime into local languages has been a contributing factor in building a thriving community of anime enthusiasts in India.”
But “when dubbing Japanese anime to Indian languages, it is essential to retain the nuances of the story and characters. It is necessary to ensure dubbing is done by experts. If dubs are not done keeping high standards in focus, they will not work,” added Sahu.
Crunchyroll also introduced a Hindi user interface on its app in 2023.
Theatrical triumph: Anime hits the big screen
As the love for anime continues to flourish in India, the traditional confines of TV and OTT platforms prove inadequate. PVR and Cinépolis, giants in India’s cinema chain landscape, have embraced this cultural shift by bringing anime to the grandeur of the big screen.
“In India, animation was once seen as solely for children, but now, on a global scale, animation studios have elevated storytelling through animation to new heights. Animated movies are no longer just for kids; they are a source of family entertainment, meant to be savoured together on the big screen,” said Cinépolis’ CEO Devang Sampat.
When Japanese-director Makoto Shinkai’s film Suzume released in India in April 2023, PVR hosted a Makoto Shinkai Film Festival in May, during which the theatre chain screened four of Shinkai’s previous anime films along with Suzume.
The Japanese Film Festival India – conducted by Japan Foundation in association with PVR Inox since 2017 – showcased 11 anime films in theatres at major Indian cities, starting from October 2023. The festival is in its last leg at Kolkata, and has screened films like Lupin The 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro (directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 1979) and Detective Conan the Movie: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital.
As for Cinépolis, it has been steadily increasing the number of anime and animated films screening in India since 2019. In 2023, the cinema chain released nine anime films (including Suzume) totalling 3,369 shows in India. “Animated films and anime movies, while gaining traction, usually do not reach the same box office heights as big-budget live-action films. However, there have been exceptions with successful animated films like the Hanuman series, Chhota Bheem, and Japanese anime films like Jujutsu Kaisen and Suzume,” revealed Sampat. “These movies are typically distributed in major cities across the country, including but not limited to cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune.”
The celebrity touch
Crunchyroll roped in popular Indian actors – Baaghi-fame Tiger Shroff and Pushpa-fame Rashmika Mandanna – for a mega marketing campaign in July 2023. At the event, anime fans Shroff and Mandanna discussed their favourite characters and shows. This collaboration “has not only elevated Crunchyroll’s visibility but also strengthened our connection with the Indian audience across geographies,” Sahu shared.
In December 2023, Crunchyroll announced that Indian actor Ali Fazal will be the voice for the Hindi dub of Korean anime series Solo Leveling, which debuted on the platform in India in January 2024.
Fan & community engagement
Anime Times celebrated its launch on Prime Video in India with two spectacular events in two prestigious institutes of the country. The event, called Anime Fusion, conducted at FTII in the Pune city and ITM IDM in the Mumbai city, witnessed cosplay competition, quiz session and a special screening of anime series Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead.
Back in 2022, Crunchyroll forged a strategic partnership with Comic Con India, emerging as the associate partner for its Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai editions. Building upon the success of the initial partnership, Crunchyroll escalated its involvement in 2023 by becoming the powered by partner for the next edition of Comic Con India. This edition comprised five events held across the country, with the Bengaluru and Delhi events already concluded. Crunchyroll brought fun anime activities, goodies and special screenings for fans at the events.
While cosplayers have been donning anime characters at Comic Con India events, the partnership between the biggest comic event and a dedicated anime platform enriches fan experiences and engagement.
“Crunchyroll provides a full anime fan immersion experience. Along with streaming, we have started theatricals and events already,” said Sahu.
The platform has amped up the experience of fans by getting into games. “We rolled out Crunchyroll Game Vault for our premium members who can have free access to anime-inspired games such as Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery, Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions, Inbento, River City Girls, and Wolfstride,” shared Sahu.
Merchandise and more
A young and affluent population makes up a key demographic of anime fans and this demographic is willing to spend on anything anime-related, KC Global Media Entertainment co-founder, president & CEO George Chien had told AnimationXpress in an interview.
This type of fandom opens a whole new market – licensing & merchandising; and the opportunity is not lost on broadcasters and digital platforms in India.
Sony YAY! – who is the first master licensee for Naruto in India – introduced the show’s official merchandise through the retail chain The Souled Store, bringing Naruto apparel, accessories, footwear and personal care to fans. The broadcaster announced a collaboration with fashion brand Only, bringing a new clothing line for the popular anime character and show across the latter’s 51 stores pan India.
Crunchyroll announced a partnership with brand licensing agency Black White Orange to manage L&M of more than 35 anime titles streaming on its platform, including series like My Dress-Up Darling and Zom 100: Bucket List of The Dead.
Japanese animation style in Indian productions
The growing popularity of anime is encouraging non-Japanese content producers to explore Japan’s unique animation style for its shows.
Sony Pictures Networks India’s newly launched animation division YAY! Animations, is producing a show with a Japanese studio. The show titled Karna – The Guardian will blend the rich story material from India with the creative prowess of Japan’s Ascension. Directed by Tetsuo Hirakawa, the show combines elements of Indian mythology and science fiction to tell the story of an ordinary boy who discovers his lineage as the guardian of three realms.
A bright outlook for anime in India
Entering into 2024, anime has already strengthened its position. Indian fans are waiting with bated breaths for two major anime film releases in India this year – Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training and Haikyuu!! The Movie: The Battle at the Garbage Dump.
With such a solid start, user engagement, content diversity, community building, events and fan experiences in anime consumption is only poised to rise.
“We can expect increased personalisation and interactive anime experiences in the upcoming year,” mentioned Sahu. “With increased content offerings we expect the consumption to go up as fans discover newer titles which appeal to them. We’ll continue to see anime viewership and engagement grow, which will translate into subscriber growth. Anime is on an amazing growth trajectory right now and we see India becoming one of the top anime markets in the world.”
Does 2024 look bright for anime in India? Undoubtedly yes, we believe.