Indian mythology is ready for its anime moment. We just need the format

Indian Express

3 days ago

A few years ago, at a Comic Con India event, someone asked me if India could ever have its own anime or manga moment — a global, cultural phenomenon that felt unmistakably ours. I said yes, but not in the way most people expect.
For Japan, that moment came through manga. For India, the answer lies in mythology.
And to be clear, I don't mean mythology as religion or a teaching aid. I mean mythology as worldbuilding — character-driven, morally messy, emotionally resonant storytelling that already exists in our cultural archives. But for decades, we have treated these stories either as textbooks (Amar Chitra Katha) or children's cartoons (like Bheem or Roll No. 21). These were never created with global audiences in mind — and that's fine. They were not meant for global export.
But that leaves a space open. A space where the format, and not the story, is the missing piece.
We already have the stories
India doesn't lack material. Mythology, folklore, and even history offer an incredible foundation. What we lack is the packaging that allows it to scale — emotionally, structurally, and globally.
What manga and anime do exceptionally well is build internal logic. They create emotional systems where the characters and the world evolve in sync. Take Naruto, for example. A story of an outsider seeking acceptance has universal appeal. The storytelling structure allows that emotion to grow over hundreds of chapters.
Indian epics are full of similar arcs. Take, for instance, Karna, the loyalist who's never fully accepted. He is one of the most layered characters in any mythos, anywhere. His story is powerful because it's human.
The question, therefore, isn't whether we have great stories. The question is: why haven't we told them in a way the world can follow?
Comics could be our way in
Serialised storytelling, especially in comics, allows for emotional depth to unfold over time. It's sustainable, cost-effective, and creator-first. Unlike streaming or film, comics don't require massive budgets or gatekeepers. You just start.
This is why I believe comics could be our format. Manga didn't begin as a global movement. It began as something local, handmade, and deeply committed to storytelling. The same applies to the Franco-Belgian graphic novel space. (Think Tintin or Asterix.)
In India, we have seen glimmers of this. Zines, self-published comics or fan art often tell original stories rooted in culture or mythology. Some are directly inspired by epics. Others take inspiration from mood, theme, or texture. The point is: creators are already doing the work. We just haven't built the infrastructure to support them yet.
Why existing work didn't scale
It's worth acknowledging that India has had decades of mythology-driven content from Amar Chitra Katha to television serials to kid-friendly animations. But none of these were built with a global audience in mind. They were made to educate or entertain within a specific cultural context. That's a different goal from building long-term IP. Anime became what it is because it trusted the emotional beats to land. Most Indian mythology adaptations to date haven't taken that creative risk.
Even something like Baahubali, which became a global hit, largely found success through diaspora communities. It opened the door and arguably helped platforms like Netflix consider titles like RRR, which then reached wider audiences (though often for different reasons).
What we actually need
Japan's anime ecosystem didn't happen overnight. It was built on a supply chain of writers, illustrators, editors, and animators supported by publishers who understood fan culture. India doesn't need to replicate that exactly, but we do need the scaffolding.
That could look like:
Once the story exists, it builds its own following, not through hype, but through connection.
It's already happening — quietly
Year after year, fans walk into Comic Con India, dressed as characters from anime, K-dramas, or Western IPs. But more recently, I have also seen creators tabling with their original zines, webcomics, and story-driven prints. To name a few, publishers such as IndusVerse, Holy Cow Entertainment, Yali Dream Creations, and Bullseye Press are creating new, unique Indian comics, some of it rooted in mythology, others exploring pulp, sci-fi, horror, and grounded fiction. What matters is that they are building original IP.
India doesn't need a mythology moment. We have had that for centuries. What we need now is to look at that mythology — and our other stories — through a new lens, in a new format, with a wider ambition.
The stories are already here. We just need to tell them differently.
The writer is the founder of Comic Con India.