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The debut edition of Anime India held in Mumbai at Nesco Bombay Exhibition Centre emerged as one of the fastest growing pop-culture celebrations in the sub-continent. The Japanese culture focused confab attracted more than 29,000 anime fans over three days from 22 to 24 August.
The event was held in conjunction with the seventh edition of the Animation & More Summit and Ann Awards, which is an annual fixture attended by leaders from the Indian and international animation ecosystem.
Director of two iconic anime titles Attack on Titan and Death Note Tetsuro Aaraki participated in several meet and greet events with thousands of roaring fans on 23 and 24 August. The Pokemon Company corporate officer Susumu Fukunaga from global anime franchise Pokemon also flew down from Japan and spoke about the worldwide success of the franchise and how they plan to further spread their activities in India.
Influencer and stand up comic Rohan Joshi who came in on the third day was another attraction. He indulged in a round of anime dumb charades with the audiences which had thronged to watch and interact with him.
“Anime India is not just a celebration of fandom—it is the bridge between Indian creativity and global storytelling. Here, we empower artists, fans, and dreamers to shape the future of anime culture in India and beyond,” Anime India co-founder & director Neha Mehta.
“We are delighted to have brought a large piece of Japanese culture in the form of anime, manga comics to Mumbai. Fans have not experienced something like this before, experiencing three days of animated discussions, singing, games, quizzes, cosplay, merchandise, food and original locally developed anime characters all under one,” said Anime India co-founder & director Mishaal Wanvari.
The event was presented by Anime Times and Toyota, co-powered by Yotta. The gold partner circle features 88 Pictures, ARK, Maxon, Epic Games, and Unreal Engine, while silver partners included Redington, Autodesk, and Zebu Animation Studios. Datsi joined as the talent development partner and the associate partners were Fuji Film and Sony YAY!. PlayStation was the official gaming partner, with Powerkids Entertainment as the lanyards and badges partner.
Further enriching the summit, Shinchan:Spicy Kasukabe Dancers in India was on board as the delegate bag partner, Bright Outdoor Media as outdoor partner, and Jetro and MDEC as country partners. Industry partners included Captain Raaj, Huion, IICT, Toonz Media Group, Toonsutra and XP Pen. The festival partner is DigiCon6 Asia and the education partners are Atlas (ISDI), Arena FC College, Cosmos Creative Academy, Dr DY Patil School of Design, Frameboxx 2.0, ITM Skills University, Incube 8, KES College, MAAC, RJ College, Prime Focus Academy, Thakur College, MIT Art Design & Technology University, Mithibai College, Tron Education, Srajan College of Design, Veda Institute, Whistling Woods International and Zica.
Apart from partners like Toyota, Anime Times, Epic Games | Unreal Engine and PlayStation, Anime India had the presence of over 70 exhibitors, including leading brands like Muse, MediaLink, Souled Store, and Celio, all vending original licensed merchandise for fans.
The Japanese-focused cultural festival together featured cosplay, singing Ayidol, karaoke and gaming contests with more than 1,200 participants taking part and putting up delightful performances.
