Japan and India focus on culture to connect

This year, India’s enthusiasm for Japanese entertainment saw India become the second largest anime (Opens in new window) market after China with around 180 million viewers. The country’s anime appetite is set to bulge to about US $5 billion by 2032. Last year, India’s first anime and manga school was launched in Hyderabad – a collaboration between IACG Multimedia College and Kyoto Seika University.

What is it about Japanese manga and anime that resonates so strongly? After speaking with some friends who are manga aficionados, I found that the answer is partly the diversity of genres. From fantasy and science fiction to romance and punchy dark humour, there is something for everyone.

While teenagers enjoy One Piece, young men fancy shonen (Opens in new window) (fighting stories) like Death Note and Attack on Titan. Many comics are also classic bildungsroman stories (stories of personal growth). The characters are complex and vivid. As one manga-obsessed school friend said, “One grows up with the lead characters. They are funny, sad, heroic, and tragic. At times, light-hearted yet dark. With a lot of superhero antics. Oh, I love that.”

Immaculate attention to detail in the visuals is another factor in manga and anime’s success. The graphics are clear and depict everyday emotions with artistic exaggeration. Take the character Goku (Opens in new window) from the hit series Dragon Ball Z. Goku is a celestial martial artist battling the forces of evil across the galaxy. He is noble of heart, naïve, and treasures loyalty. He is a hit with children and adults alike.

Bridges emerge between societies from unique places. Japanese manga and anime are examples of such sturdy bridges that bring Japan and India together and will continue to do so with strengthened recognition of their importance. If a conservative Italian friend of mine, a historian by disposition, could think of faraway Tokyo for his first internship, one can understand how deeply Japanese visual culture has permeated our times.

For every traditional filmmaker like Akira Kurosawa, there is an equally gifted artist such as anime creator Akira Toriyama. These gifted artists have made India look at Japan with fresh eyes.