Anime from Over 30 Years Ago Finds New Fans, Leading to Production in India; Japan Anime Industry Eyes Further Expansion to India

Yomiuri Shimbun

25-04-2025

©1986 Yoshinori Kobayashi/TV Asahi
Chama, center, in a scene from the new 'Obocchama-kun' series
A comedy anime that aired more than 30 years ago in Japan has found a new audience in India.
The hit anime 'Obocchama-kun' is about a playful little boy who is the son of an incredibly wealthy family and heir to a large financial group. The show has become so popular in India that a new series is being produced locally.
The show's popularity is apparently a result of the current lifestyle and culture in India and the overseas development strategy of the Japanese anime industry.
'Obocchama-kun' is based on Yoshinori Kobayashi's manga of the same title and aired on the TV Asahi network from 1989-92.
The anime uses slightly vulgar expressions, and the protagonist frequently uses wordplay.
It depicts the lavish and extraordinary lifestyle of Chama Obo, the heir to a conglomerate owned by the world-famous Obo family.
Chama uses wordplay to invent words and phrases, which were also popular at the time the show first-aired. He creates words, such as 'oha yogurt,' a combination of ohayo (good morning in Japanese) and yogurt; and 'sonna banana,' a play on the Japanese phrase 'sonna bakana,' which means 'This is crazy.'
TV Asahi has been exporting anime for nearly 40 years, and three particularly popular works are 'Doraemon,' 'Crayon Shin-chan' ('Shin chan') and 'Ninja Hattori.'
In India, 'Obocchama-kun' gained popularity in 2021, when it was broadcast on a children's network. Local audiences enjoyed watching the old episodes but wanted more. Now, a TV station in India and TV Asahi are jointly producing a new series, which is scheduled to start airing this summer.
Localization not requested
Why is the show so popular in India?
Maiko Sumida, head of Animation Sales and Development, International Business Department at TV Asahi, explains that three aspects of the anime — school life, parental love and energetic gags — are the reasons for its popularity.
'The work was created toward the end of the 20th century, when the Japanese economy was growing and Japan was energetic,' Sumida said. 'I think it fits into India's situation today, as the country's economy is on the rise.'
Sumida also said that there are some elements in the anime that are unique to Japan, including the use of randoseru school bags, and such aspects of Japanese culture have been well received.
©1986 Yoshinori Kobayashi/TV Asahi
The new 'friend rich' gag, in which Chama places a ¥1 coin on a person's forehead as a gesture of good friendship
'Localization wasn't requested,' she said. 'I was told, 'The world of anime in Japan is so good,' and they asked about making 'a sequel, not a spin-off.''
However, one word made up by Chama, 'tomodachinko,' a combination of 'tomodachi' (friend) and 'chinko' (penis), is no longer considered appropriate, so it was switched to the phrase 'friend rich,' which Chama says while placing a coin on the forehead of a child that he wants to become friends with. The coin used is a ¥1 coin, not a rupee.
Production process
Anime-related exports from Japan to India are still small compared to exports to East Asia, Europe and the United States. However, the main target of TV Asahi's overseas expansion started to shift from Europe and the United States to India more than 15 years ago.
Previous episodes of 'Obocchama-kun' were made in Japan and dubbed in India. However, the new series will be the first time the show is produced in India.
The Japanese side will be responsible for the story and character design, while the Indian side will be in charge of storyboarding and other aspects of the process. Last year, staff from the Japanese side went to India to hold a joint training session with local staff.
'Chama has a lot of facial expressions, so it's difficult to portray his cuteness,' Sumida said.
At the same time, cultural differences between Japan and India led to certain issues.
Courtesy of TV Asahi Corp.
A joint training session held in India in April last year to prepare for the production of the new series of 'Obocchama-kun'
For example, in a tea ceremony scene, the Indian animators did not draw the tea utensils placed directly on the floor, but instead, drew a stand on which the utensils were placed. They also changed the chabudai, a low table used by people sitting on the floor, to a long-legged table, as people in India do not use chabudai.
The Japanese staff had to ask the local staff to redraw and gave them detailed instructions, which took up a lot of time and effort during the production process.
Nevertheless, the Japanese anime industry has reason to stick with the approach.
These days, due in part to the popularity of anime geared more toward adults and anime movies, the industry in Japan, where the birth rate is declining, cannot afford to allocate a lot of people to making children's anime. India, in comparison, has many children, and if local production is possible, then many shows can be created.
'The anime industry needs to think about 'training' [an anime production workforce overseas],' Sumida said.
'Shin chan' boom
How have Japanese anime and manga been accepted in India?
'The generation that used to watch Japanese anime on TV as children has grown up and now enjoys anime and manga meant for adults,' said Toru Tak, a visiting researcher at Chuo University who is knowledgeable about India.
Anime movies are incredibly popular in India's big cities, and it has been announced that a theatrical version of 'Shin chan' will be released in India this year for the first time.
When Tak studied in India from 2000 to 2012, he felt that 'Shin chan' was the most popular anime among children.
The anime's characters do various things that parents tell their children not to do, such as showing their buttocks in public and talking back to adults.
'Watching such indecent or defiant acts of anime characters excites children in India, too,' Tak said. 'Children in India are in reality quite active, and often wild, too.'
The same can be said for 'Obocchama-kun.'
Parents allow their children to watch it, even though they might raise their eyebrows during certain scenes, on the premise that 'this is a story set in Japan,' Tak said.
'If the characters were changed to look Indian and live in an Indian setting, it might be more of a problem,' Tak added.
Japan and India seem to be similar in that people have a public appearance that might differ from who they really are.