Inside Chennai’s Japanese saga

CHENNAI: Times have changed. So have we. But something about Chennai that has evermore been a city which feels home to every community never does. The multifaceted Japanese culture has found a home in Chennai long enough, and has only burgeoned since then. We share a lot more similarities with Japan than just being closer to the sea.

Jonathan Faust from The Sunshine House, brings to the city a matsuri (festival) for all the Japanophiles, and a home for anime in the form of Animatsuri 2.0. He was eight, and with Dragon Ball Z dominating Cartoon Network, his curiosity for Japanese anime grew. “Back then, Chennai was still self-centered to the degree that Japanese anime was more a niche topic, occasionally a conversation between a handful of individuals that came across as a coincidence,” says Jonathan, who is now 33.

It’s diverting that while Chennai has simultaneously incorporated Japanese culture as a part of their lifestyle, from kendo schools, to anime clubs, there has also been a growth that incorporates it naturally into the traditional systems of functioning, in a sense mimicking Japanese culture while also making it its own.

The city has a manifold of Japanese culture which it whoops it up in all its prestige. But what are those?

Oldest otakus of Tamil Nadu

Remember the decade of 2010 where Facebook ruled every single idea of our perfect networking life? Vignesh Durai, who also goes by Pandaman, started Otaku Nadu then in 2015. “Otaku Nadu started as an offshoot of the One Piece India Facebook community, after my encounter with One Piece and a few other anime series from 2012 to 2014. There was no established anime community for people from Chennai or even India,” says Vignesh.

Accessibility of the anime culture was also lacking at the time. Even though Japan’s soft power was promoting anime and manga globally, it was still not accessible. He states,“There were no theatrical releases, and it was expensive to watch or read anime and manga.”

Otaku Nadu became one of the first Tamil-specific anime community-driven groups, which operates much like a cooperative. It is dedicated to celebrating and promoting Japanese pop culture, especially anime, manga, and gaming, across Tamil Nadu and beyond. “We organise events, fan meetups, special screenings of anime films, and conventions to bring together fans from Chennai, and around the globe,” Vignesh adds.

The year 2019 saw a shift in theatrical releases of Japanese anime. Otaku Nadu had created a petition, urging the screening of Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering with You, and One Piece Films at PVR for years. He says, “But it was in 2019 when the petition was accepted and PVR had released Dragon Ball Super: Broly on the big screen.”

With “Just wanted to promote anime in India” inscribed in Otaku Nadu’s oldest video end cards, it now is an inclusive community for all anime, otaku and Japanese culture enthusiasts.

The Japanese chapter

“Chennai has more Japanese natives residing than any other city,” states Abhideep S, secretary of the Asia Culture Club. Formed by fans of Japanese and Korean culture from various cities, the Chennai Chapter regularly hosts meetups and attends cultural events in the city.

“We started in December 2022, and with our first official meetup on April 16 2023, we were inspired by the Japan Habba Trust, which has been running India’s largest Japanese Culture Festival in Bangalore for the past 20 years,” Abhideep recounts.

The first meetup unfolded some origami for Japan Habba and learning of basic Japanese, while trying ramen at a local restaurant. “We discovered that Chennai has a lot more to offer towards Japanese culture than what meets the eye,” he adds.

The goal of the community run, non profit club is to promote the exploration of Asian cultures including Japanese, Korean, and even Indian culture by engaging with members in person, creating a sense of community.

Merch of all trades

The market for anime figures was and continues to be quite niche in Chennai, as the supply of merchandise has still not been regulated. Nikhil Ravikumar goes by Nikhil Nazo, the founder of AniSync.

AniSync is an online membership platform for anime fan activities. It is involved in providing the auxiliary experiences that go with watching anime on OTT or in cinemas, whether it’s purchasing official merchandise, getting tickets to special screenings, or attending special events.

AniSync started with anime figures in Chennai in 2017. “There is currently a flood of bootleg merchandise in the market, due to high import costs and certification requirements for official merchandise. The government is aware of this, and is taking active steps to promote official merchandise by partnering with Japanese organisations. But it is a slow process,” says Nikhil with a sigh.

Editor in chief - The Anime Nadu edition

With the first ever Chennai Comic Con this year, Japanese culture has flourished beyond recognition. SP Praveen Raj, aka Pvnstarlet, is the editor in chief of Anime Nadu, for its Anime Nadu monthly edition. “Our goal at Anime Nadu goes with the motto, ‘For the weebs, by the weebs’,” Pvnstarlet explains.

Delivering anime news right to the doorsteps, Anime Nadu News became India’s first anime newspaper, delivered all throughout the country as well as to a few college libraries. It includes information on all anime, manga, live-action updates, anime character databases, and Indian anime events. He adds, “Weebshop A-Z Anime Merchandise Store, located in Kancheepuram, and we have partnered to distribute the newspaper together. In 2025, we intend to turn the edition into a magazine.”

For those to showcase their artistic abilities in fields relating to art and anime culture, Anime Nadu also launched the Anime Pesuvom podcast.

The tale of P0nkerbread

Paul David goes by Thecringerbreadman, and Kathryn M by Katp0nk. Their intertwining tales of anime art established P0nkerbread, which works with all kinds of art styles ranging from cute chibi, calm slice of life and fashion all the way to creepy horror and sci fi art.

A lot of people are unaware about how diverse anime can be. They often visualise anime to be extravagant. Studio Ghibli art isn’t probably what comes to mind immediately since the proportions and features differ. The hairstyle, hair color, outfits all blend quite naturally to reality.

“Their stories are also very real. Even though they contain a lot of fantasy, like the fever dream story of The Boy and the Heron, it still has that familiar touch to it. Almost like you’re watching a nostalgic show from your childhood instead of some flashy new anime,” opines Kathryn.

Anime art is quite versatile. Paul says that, “One can romanticise scenes from everyday life, or fantastical scenes depicting giant kaiju and robots, or a world filled with magic and more. Any kind of story can be adapted with the right kind of anime, which sometimes, mere words fail to deliver.”

Though the artform is accepted by people in Chennai, “But sadly, there aren’t a lot of studio opportunities for the style in the city, but plenty of freelance requests from individuals and international studios,” adds Paul.

Dress-up your way to the runway

You knew this was coming. Can we really miss cosplays? The cosplay community of the city fondly calls V Logesh Rajah, the 29 year old banker as Zoro from One Piece.

“I made my debut with Chennai Comic-con 2024 with Perseus Jackson from Percy Jackson and the Olympians. As for why, I have been a geek all my life. I have imagined myself in all the stories that I ended up loving. I guess cosplay gave me the opportunity to live my imagination,” Logesh shares.

Growing up in Tiruchi, these fictional characters edified him more about life than real people. “And a chance to become one, even for a few hours was nothing short of enticing,” he says.

Pritha Bhattacharya is also 29, and a copywriter. Her only inducement was her shere love for the Japanese animation medium.

“Chennai probably has one of the most intimate cosplay communities I know. Those in other cities may be highly regarded and massive in scale, but here, people appreciate cosplay more as an art than a business. It is a bit conservative though, but the newest crop of cosplayers are definitely doing their part in breaking down those walls,” Pritha highlights.

— Animatsuri 2.0 is the carnival of this very culture and a lot more. Mark your calendars for Animatsuri 2.0, on October 6, from 11 am to 9 pm, at Meenakshi’s Narayanan Hall, at Choolaimedu in Chennai.