Almost everyone likes to watch Doraemon or Shinchan on TV as a child. The Japanese content craze in India has grown exponentially in the past few years. Now it is not just limited to kids cartoons, but teenagers to adults too have become crazy about it. Seeing this growing popularity, major Japanese content companies are now changing their strategy in India. Till now these companies used to send only ready-made animation programs to India. But now they are gearing up to cash in big from films, licensing and merchandising using their old identity i.e. Intellectual Property (IP). This means that now, characters like Doraemon and Shinchan will be seen not only on TV, but from the theater to your clothes.
The move from TV shows to cinemas
India is one of the most important markets for Japanese media network TV Asahi. This company has the rights of famous shows like Doraemon, Shinchan, Ninja Hammer. Maiko Sumida, head of TV Asahi’s international business department, says Doraemon has been present in India for the past 20 years. Now the company is working on a special plan to launch it in theatres. Recently PVR Inox Pictures has released Shinchan in India. Now they are soon going to release Doraemon’s new movie ‘New Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil’ in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages.
India is also a huge market for Shin-A Animation, the studio that produces the Doraemon films. The studio has produced 45 Doraemon films so far. Studios want more and more of their films to release in India so that they can generate good business from their entire catalog. Kenji Yoshida of Fujiko Pro said that ‘Paraman’ has also been very popular in India. In such a situation, many more of his characters may come to India in the coming time.
India has become the third largest market in the world
Anime viewership in India is growing very fast. According to a 2026 report by Gem Partners, India has now become the world’s third largest market in terms of anime viewing, after Japan and China. The reach of anime in India has reached 41 percent. Most importantly, 79 percent of Indian viewers surveyed have spent money on anime-related products or services.
If we talk about the earnings, the film ‘Demon Slayer’ released last year made a great collection of 75 crore rupees in India. For this reason, OTT platforms like Jio Hotstar, Netflix, Prime Video are adding more and more anime content to their platforms. India has become one of the top three markets for platforms like Crunchyroll.
Monitor multi-million dollar business transactions
A recent research by Hakuhodo India found that about 95.9 percent of viewers across 8 cities watch anime on their smartphones. For this, OTT platforms are their first choice. Now these viewers are not just stuck watching videos, but are also buying everyday items related to these characters like clothes, stationery, bags etc. Japanese companies want to take advantage of this opportunity. Agencies like Black White Orange (BWO) are handling their marketing work.
Jayantho Banerjee, co-managing director of Hakuhodo India Group, says that anime is no longer the choice of a small segment. In time to come it will become a part of the mainstream completely. According to him, now it is not just a means of entertainment but has become an important part of many people’s lives.
