When we think of anime, our mind automatically shifts its focus to Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun. Japan is known for many things around the world; Mt. Fuji, Sushi, Global Tech Companies, and the Shinkansen to just name a few. But what’s also popular worldwide, and has found a global presence among fans in almost every country, is ‘Anime.’ The entirety of ‘Manga’ (Japanese comic or graphic novels) when adapted into animated motion pictures or long-running TV series is called ‘Anime.’
Anime is the shortening of the English word ‘Animation’ itself, and it is a diverse medium with distinctive production methods. The Anime industry produces movies that are colorful, spirited, lively, spriteful, that fill the viewers with hope, joy, and a sense of calmness amidst their busy or mundane lives.
It also includes movies that are dark, twisted, violent, and sometimes even gory, to suit the storyline and the plot of the film. Some great examples are Studio Ghibli productions such as ‘Spirited Away,’ ‘My Neighbour Totoro,’ ‘Ponyo,’ ‘Princess Mononoke,’ etc.
Even as the movies have earned its mark as Anime royalty, thare are long-running series such as Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, and One Piece among others, that have millions of fans each. All of these media, as part of Anime, create a world of experiences like nothing else. But that’s not just the fascinating part of this world. The business Anime does is also mind-boggling.
The Anime industry is a multi-billion dollar global market, whose valuation lies somewhere between $30 billion – $37 billion. It is expected to rise to $68 billion – $138 billion by 2030. The business is further emboldened by international streaming platforms such as Netflix and Crunchyroll. While the business of anime is spectacular in most developed countries like the USA and United Kingdom, we are going to focus on the unprecedented rise of the industry in India.
In India, the Anime industry is worth $2 billion – $2.5 billion, as of 2025. It is expected to grow up to $5 billion by 2032. This shows an unreal growth from the previous year 2024, as it grew 2.7 times. Anime isn’t just a popular franchise-led TV series or a bunch of films we watch on your devices anymore. It has expanded itself to cultural conventions, fan meets, and even anime fairs that bring massive profits and contribute to the economy.
In major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru, Anime is as large as anywhere else in the world. Sometimes, the fandom here in India even shocks those from Tokyo. Take New Delhi’s “Mela! Mela! Anime Japan!!” anime convention. It is a big cultural event held annually in the nation’s capital city, where around 60,000 – 70,000 fans gather for the two-day event. Last year in 2025, it was held at the Pacific Mall at Tagore Garden.
Die-Hard Anime fans not only attend this convention religiously like a pilgrim, but also regularly visit the city’s Japan Cultural Center. There, they discuss and share whatever props or accessories they have from the Anime world. While this activity may not directly earn money, it is this level of passion that makes India such a huge market for Anime.
Any product, any entertainment entity, any merchandise from Anime world, when packaged and sold at the right place in India, sells like crazy.
This also makes India the second-biggest Anime market in the world with 53 million fans. It’s second only to the USA, whereas Japan comes lower in that order owing to their population. The only thing that may be harming this Anime business in India is ‘Copyright Infringement’ and ‘Piracy.’
While it’s an issue at large in society in general, India’s piracy rate for Anime shows and movies is alarmingly high. India is among the top countries in the world to traffic content to and from illegal websites. To tackle this issue, original creators from Japan, such as Masakazu Hashimoto, the director of the movie, “Shin chan: The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers in India,” visited India during the “Mela! Mela! Anime Japan!!” festival to promote the film and interact with fans. The experience was surreal for some fans, and definitely memorable for everyone else.
While the battle against piracy continues, organizing committee member pf the anime convention, Yamanaka Takayuki, remains affirmative that this industry is a profitable one. He believes it’s already thriving and will only grow with time.
