- Anime's popularity in India surged significantly during the pandemic period
- Regional dubbing helped anime reach tier 2 and tier 3 Indian cities extensively
- India is now the second-largest consumer market for anime globally
Anime's popularity in India has grown at an unprecedented pace over the past few years.
Speaking at the NDTV Indo-Japan Strategic Dialogue on Thursday, Comic Con India Founder Jatin Varma explained how the pandemic changed anime consumption in the country, why Indian fans remain deeply invested in the medium, and what makes India an increasingly important market for Japanese creators.
Asked whether regional dubbing was the biggest factor behind anime's growing reach across India, Varma said, "I think something happened during the pandemic, which opened up a whole market that already existed but really blew it up."
"And then post-pandemic, when we saw all these streaming apps dub a lot of the popular anime series into local languages, the penetration went from just Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore to tier 2, tier 3 cities. And unlike the Marvel or the DC superhero sort of boom that happened in the past decade, this had a deeper reach to it. It connected with fans beyond the most obvious places that we would find them."
"And it is now a part of life. You cannot assume that anything, any Comic Con, can happen without anime and manga. You cannot imagine any pop culture event in India happening without anime and manga. And it's now going to be there forever, and I think it has a deeper reach than anything else from outside."
The discussion then turned to anime's broad appeal in India, with the host noting that while cartoons are often associated with children, anime has managed to attract audiences across age groups.
Responding to this, Varma said, "No age, class is a bar. In fact, gender is no bar. In fact, I feel more women watch anime than men. But I feel like it's because of the sheer volume of the type of things that you can consume, the type of stories, and the type of character arcs and franchises. You have something for everyone. So it's a little more engaging than what you assume when it comes to, say, the superhero universe, right? Which is why it's growing massively, which is why India is the second-largest consumption market for anime. And I think maybe in the next decade, we'll also be a very important market for them on the business side of it."
When asked what Japanese producers should keep in mind while catering to Indian audiences, Varma highlighted the loyalty of anime fans in the country.
#IndoJapanStrategicDialogue | Yeh Dil 'Manga' More: How Anime & Manga Are Powering The Next Chapter Of India-Japan Creative Ties@TJhumroo discusses with Comic Con India Founder Jatin Varma pic.twitter.com/D4396j6GOH
— NDTV (@ndtv) July 2, 2026
"Specifically, when it comes to this type of content, the penetration is much stickier with Indian fans than, say, we've seen with Western comics or Western content. If you become a fan of anime and manga, you tend to stay with it forever. You're not a casual fan. You tend to invest a lot of your time and effort into it."
Backing his point with an example, he added, "Just to give you a number. Last year, there was a movie called Demon Slayer Infinity Castle, which released in India. It was dubbed in a bunch of languages. It did approximately Rs 80 crores of box office returns, which was higher than the Superman movie, which released last year. So that tells you there is a very massive market sitting here and waiting to consume this content."
