Exclusive | Anime India co-founders on cosplay, co-productions and the country's rising anime economy
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Rise of anime in India, the impact and much more Photograph: (X/Instagram)
In an exclusive conversation with WION, Anime India co-founders Mishaal Wanvari and Neha Mehta spoke about how anime is steadily building its own ecosystem in the country, from cosplay to brand collaborations and much more.
Anime has definitely cemented itself as India's fastest-growing entertainment obsession. What was once a niche pastime for a small pocket of viewers has exploded into a mainstream cultural force post COVID, becoming the go-to content choice. From genre-defining hits in the action-driven Shounen space to romance and isekai stories carving out loyal fan bases, anime's reach in India now spans brand collaborations, box office numbers, and a rapidly professionalising convention circuit. As Anime India kicks off today in Mumbai, co-founders Neha Mehta and Mishaal Wanvari spoke exclusively about what's fuelling this rise and where it's headed next.
WION: How has the Indian anime audience changed in the last five years, both in size and in what they're consuming?
Neha and Mishaal: It's evolved so much after COVID especially. As you know, for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the content has been anime as the first choice. And we have seen that evolve drastically. What we have seen in the data also is that there are more than 150 million anime fans in India. Because as you know, the content for younger generation is a bit limited in India. Our broadcast content has been targeted to a wider audience. While for Gen Z and young adult, there has been less. And anime has become the top choice because of that. And we have seen that grow a lot. And now we're seeing that continuously rise."
“That's what has led to, you know, you must have seen so many brand licencing deals also. Like the Kit Kat and One Piece collab, which happened recently. Then Naruto and Muscle Blaze. So there are many collabs; you can see the acceptance. Brands understand; you can see everyone understanding through the popularity of this audience. And 150 million is a small amount.”
WION: Which genres or titles have been the biggest gateway into anime for Indian audiences?
Neha and Mishaal: Mostly, I'll tell you, India has a lot of core markets of fandom. So you have a Shounen genre, which is the action genre, which has always been popular. But there's a huge chunk of the audience which likes romance. There is something called shoujo, which is targeting the female audience. That's also pretty big. And there is an entire genre called isekai, which is basically being reborn into another world, which is popular."
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"So there are core pockets of so many different genres which people like. There is Shounen, which is more about serious and drama-based anime. There are multiple kinds. There's comedy. Because the genres are so many and the quantity being produced is so many. I think Japan produces more than 200 anime a year. That's one of the largest contents being produced as a series-based. So it's every year. And then anime goes to manga. So there are enough genres for people to like. But if you are to ask in pure numbers, action has always been the most popular. I mean, we saw with that Demon Slayer's record box office of almost 90 crores in India."
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WION: How has cosplay culture specifically grown alongside the anime boom in India?
Neha and Mishaal: So even for anyone who is watching their favourite characters, their favourite stories mould into life, it's a beautiful thing to see those characters, the stories, the plots. And you want to become that character. You want to try to be as close to that character. Because that character has played such an important part. These characters become like family to you once you keep watching them. And they inspire you, they motivate you."
"So cosplay has become huge. The art form. People are dressing as their favourite characters. And we would like to come to Anime India and experience it. We have three cosplay competitions ourselves. We have a grand cosplay. We have a closet cosplay. So we created a cosplay competition for a limited budget also. Because sometimes cosplay becomes very expensive. So we created a closet cosplay competition, which you only have to do. It's basically a budget cosplay. Then we also have gaming cosplay. So yeah, you should definitely attend each cosplay competition on each day of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (August 28-30). So you'll see the popularity of it."
WION: Is there real potential for India-Japan co-productions, or is India still primarily a consumption market?
Neha and Mishaal: Currently, India has been one of the largest consumption markets. I think for international Japanese companies, the preference has been second just to the US. It has been the biggest consumption market. But we are seeing co-productions happening more sooner than later. If you come to the event, there is a Japanese company called Avex. They have actually announced an anime idea contest. They are looking for Indian stories. And even Indian video proposals. And they are going to actually give a 1 million reward prize to the anime idea contest winners on Saturday."
"So their shortlist is going to be announced on Anime India Mumbai. And the winners will be finally announced at Anime India Hyderabad. So there are companies coming who are very interested in co-production. India has a dearth of mythology stories which are very similar to Japan or Asia. One of the number one anime in Japan is based on a Chinese historical story called Kingdom. And that's number one. Just imagine what we can do with India. So much history and so much mythology."
WION: Where do you see Anime India — the event and the broader ecosystem — five years from now?
Neha and Mishaal: "So we see Anime India as a catalyst for growing the anime community and growing the anime business. So when I say growing the anime community, you know this place acts as a core event. Where everyone who loves anime can get together, meet each other, and look at their favourite shows and plots. I mean, if you just see Anime India this time, there are so many booths. There are so many anime-focused booths and experience zones which people would love to experience. That is on the basis of the fandom."
"And we are doing Anime India in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Delhi, and we will be scaling that further. So right now Hyderabad is happening on 14th and 15th November. Then we will be having Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi and continuing. And that's just the fandom. Then we want to grow the business. So if you see, we only allow officially licensed companies to sell merchandise. And when these companies are seeing the popularity of fandom, we see growth in licencing deals. We see potential for co-productions. So you know in Mumbai there are a lot of animation companies coming from India. They are meeting Japanese companies. We hope that Anime India acts as a catalyst not only to build the fandom but also to grow the business and India-Japan co-productions."
