Anime is Experiencing a Cultural Crossover in India

The anime fandom in India is witnessing exciting developments as two of the most popular anime, My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, expand their presence with localized content tailored for Indian audiences. My Hero Academia Season 1 is now available in Hindi dub on Crunchyroll's Prime Video Channel in India. 

Fan-favorite Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is also making significant strides in India with Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu dubs available on Crunchyroll. Notably, the Hashira Training Arc began streaming with these dubs from June 9, 2024, allowing Indian fans to experience the latest season in their preferred languages. The showrunners are planning to make the series free to watch temporarily on YouTube ahead of the release of its upcoming movie, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle. 

The growing demand for anime content in India has driven streaming platforms and content creators to prioritize Indian dubs. This localization strategy is crucial to overcoming language barriers and making the stories more accessible and relatable to India’s linguistically diverse population which has 22 scheduled languages. By providing dubs in regional languages, companies expand their reach beyond the English urban anime fans to include wider audiences from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, significantly growing the potential viewer base.

Streaming platforms like Crunchyroll have observed that Indian anime fans spend substantial daily time watching anime, making it an attractive market for investment. Dubbing content allows platforms to engage audiences more deeply, as viewers can connect emotionally to the characters and narratives without struggling with subtitles. This natural engagement improves retention and subscription growth, which is particularly important in a competitive OTT landscape with many entertainment options.

Moreover, the success of Indian dubs aligns with wider trends in India’s entertainment consumption. The country’s OTT audience is massive and still expanding rapidly, with more than 480 million viewers in 2023 and increasing internet penetration fueling continuous growth. This makes dubbed anime a more attractive proposition for advertisers and marketers aiming to connect with anime fans across the country. 

Indian dubs contribute to the domestication of global content in India’s diverse media landscape. This localization not only makes anime more inclusive but also encourages original Indian animation studios to create content inspired by anime, bolstering the country’s creative industries and enabling cross-cultural collaborations. It also creates job opportunities for voiceover artists and other talent in the local industries. 

The rise of Indian-language dubs for anime is more than just a business strategy. It represents a cultural shift in how global stories are experienced and embraced in India. By combining the universal appeal of Japanese storytelling with the familiarity of local languages and voices, streaming platforms and content creators are weaving anime into the everyday culture of the country. 

India has become an active participant in the global anime ecosystem. The country shapes demand, influences localization trends, and even inspires homegrown creativity. The next few years could have India emerging as one of the most dynamic anime markets in the world, where global narratives truly speak in local voices.