Android developer Daniel Victor spent four months on a gruelling schedule towards the end of 2012. Seven hours of his day went in crunching code in his office in Pune, where he heads a team of developers. The rest went in single-handedly printing, folding and painting a life-size amateur fancy dress costume. The final product, a six-and-a-half foot robot suit, cost more than Rs 30,000.
Victor is a cosplayer. The word, coined in the 1970s, is a contraction of the phrase "‘costume-player". It refers to people who dress up in costumes worn by fictional characters in movies, television and comics. Gundam, the Japanese character on which Victor's costume was based, has always been one of his favourite shows. “And since I majored in robotics in my master’s, that was an added bonus,” he said.
As Japanese president Shinzō Abe leaves India today after a three-day visit, the country's growing anime community was perhaps the least of his concerns. He was more focussed on cementing business and nuclear energy deals. But in cities across India, fans of manga (Japanese comic books) and anime (animated cartoons) are slowly cementing their ties with Japanese culture.
Anime clubs have sprung up around the country, including in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune, of which Victor is a member. But the Mumbai Anime Club is by far the largest. It had its first meeting on 16 May 2010, when a group of 13 fans showed up at a McDonald’s in the city. Three months later, their second meeting attracted 50 people. The MAC now has 3,500 members online and at least 120 active offline members.
“We ourselves thought there would be no more than 50 anime fans in India,” admitted Akshay Ghag, one of the 13 at the first meeting. “But 20-30 people kept joining us each meeting, and three years later, we’re still meeting new people.”
The members are quite young – the youngest is still in school and the oldest is around 35 years old. Most are in their 20s, and many are full-time office-goers like Victor who grew up watching anime on television.
Manga, says members of the club, are as widely available in Japan as the daily newspapers. Between them, manga and anime cover a complete spectrum of genres and cultural values. Unlike western comics, which are written mainly for teenage male audiences, manga and anime are produced in a whole range of genres that cater to readers of both genders and all ages. In addition to stories for boys and for girls, there are also complex science fiction, mythological, gangster and even pornographic tales for adults.
But these stories are only one reason MAC members lavish so much time and effort on their costumes. A large part of their devotion emerges from their fascination for Japanese culture. Fans see in these not just stories, but a way of life, something with which to completely identify.
“There are certain anime and manga set in universal settings, but the famous ones are very Japanese,” said MAC member Reetam Majumder, a senior analyst at AC Nielsen. “If someone starts watching beyond the stuff on Cartoon Network and goes deeper, most of the best stuff is essentially Japanese and is usually historical in nature.”
Cosplaying is a regular part of the MAC calendar. There are two big events every year where members actively cosplay: the Mumbai Film and Comic Convention, and the Cool Japan Festival. The third edition of the festival concluded at Mumbai's High Street Phoenix mall on January 19.
Photo: Daniel Victor cosplaying a larger-than-life Gundam Exia at CJF 2013. By Angelina Shah
Victor created his giant robot suit for last year's edition of the Cool Japan Festival. The suit was an amalgamation of several origami patterns fitted together to create complicated moveable panels. He even had to buy his own printer after he realised he would need to print over 700 pages. However, three days of parading his costume up and down stages left the suit in tatters.
MAC officially supports the Cool Japan Festival which is organised by Japanese company Maido Enterprises. Rachika Sen, one of the first members, used to work for the company and she suggested that they conduct anime-specific events. The response has been overwhelming. The company is now consulting with MAC members to study the viability of selling Japanese merchandise in India at more affordable prices.
Underlying their appreciation for the anime stories is a deep-seated desire to engage with Japanese culture itself. Some anime fans follow everything they can about Japanese history, while others teach themselves Japanese by watching original versions of anime shows with subtitles.
MAC isn't the only Indian group interested in Japanese culture. There's also the India Cosplay Club, the Japanese Drama Club, and several Japanese food clubs, which bring members together to cook Japanese dishes. Some participate in singing and elocution competitions organised by the Japanese embassy. There is also band called Wasabi Vibes that plays Japanese music accompanied by the tabla.
“It is both storytelling and Japanese culture,” said Victor. “Anime is not at all like other cartoons. They have emotions and good plot lines of all kinds. But beyond that, they have a philosophy of life. If you ever have a child, just put him in front of a television with anime and he will learn all anyone needs to know about friendship, loyalty, family and determination – about all the important things in life.”
Victor is certain that he will be as interested in anime and manga at 80 as he is at 29 – and what is more, that he will continue to make even more ambitious costumes for his own pleasure.
For now, MAC has its eyes on becoming a big enough subculture to attract bigger investors in the market. They say they don't aim to make profits but merely want to stop having to buy fake Chinese anime merchandise.
“The immediate effect of being a bigger presence is already showing,” said Majumder. “MFCC is already getting bigger and it has more cosplay awards in the anime and manga section. They also get merchandise and anime companies to attend. The Japanese Foundation will fly in two famous cosplayers from abroad. The bigger picture is to get the Japanese manga industry to see India as a serious market.”
The proposed Abe-Manmohan Singh nuclear deal has nothing on this.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
Victor is a cosplayer. The word, coined in the 1970s, is a contraction of the phrase "‘costume-player". It refers to people who dress up in costumes worn by fictional characters in movies, television and comics. Gundam, the Japanese character on which Victor's costume was based, has always been one of his favourite shows. “And since I majored in robotics in my master’s, that was an added bonus,” he said.
As Japanese president Shinzō Abe leaves India today after a three-day visit, the country's growing anime community was perhaps the least of his concerns. He was more focussed on cementing business and nuclear energy deals. But in cities across India, fans of manga (Japanese comic books) and anime (animated cartoons) are slowly cementing their ties with Japanese culture.
Anime clubs have sprung up around the country, including in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune, of which Victor is a member. But the Mumbai Anime Club is by far the largest. It had its first meeting on 16 May 2010, when a group of 13 fans showed up at a McDonald’s in the city. Three months later, their second meeting attracted 50 people. The MAC now has 3,500 members online and at least 120 active offline members.
“We ourselves thought there would be no more than 50 anime fans in India,” admitted Akshay Ghag, one of the 13 at the first meeting. “But 20-30 people kept joining us each meeting, and three years later, we’re still meeting new people.”
The members are quite young – the youngest is still in school and the oldest is around 35 years old. Most are in their 20s, and many are full-time office-goers like Victor who grew up watching anime on television.
Manga, says members of the club, are as widely available in Japan as the daily newspapers. Between them, manga and anime cover a complete spectrum of genres and cultural values. Unlike western comics, which are written mainly for teenage male audiences, manga and anime are produced in a whole range of genres that cater to readers of both genders and all ages. In addition to stories for boys and for girls, there are also complex science fiction, mythological, gangster and even pornographic tales for adults.
But these stories are only one reason MAC members lavish so much time and effort on their costumes. A large part of their devotion emerges from their fascination for Japanese culture. Fans see in these not just stories, but a way of life, something with which to completely identify.
“There are certain anime and manga set in universal settings, but the famous ones are very Japanese,” said MAC member Reetam Majumder, a senior analyst at AC Nielsen. “If someone starts watching beyond the stuff on Cartoon Network and goes deeper, most of the best stuff is essentially Japanese and is usually historical in nature.”
Cosplaying is a regular part of the MAC calendar. There are two big events every year where members actively cosplay: the Mumbai Film and Comic Convention, and the Cool Japan Festival. The third edition of the festival concluded at Mumbai's High Street Phoenix mall on January 19.
Photo: Daniel Victor cosplaying a larger-than-life Gundam Exia at CJF 2013. By Angelina Shah
Victor created his giant robot suit for last year's edition of the Cool Japan Festival. The suit was an amalgamation of several origami patterns fitted together to create complicated moveable panels. He even had to buy his own printer after he realised he would need to print over 700 pages. However, three days of parading his costume up and down stages left the suit in tatters.
MAC officially supports the Cool Japan Festival which is organised by Japanese company Maido Enterprises. Rachika Sen, one of the first members, used to work for the company and she suggested that they conduct anime-specific events. The response has been overwhelming. The company is now consulting with MAC members to study the viability of selling Japanese merchandise in India at more affordable prices.
Underlying their appreciation for the anime stories is a deep-seated desire to engage with Japanese culture itself. Some anime fans follow everything they can about Japanese history, while others teach themselves Japanese by watching original versions of anime shows with subtitles.
MAC isn't the only Indian group interested in Japanese culture. There's also the India Cosplay Club, the Japanese Drama Club, and several Japanese food clubs, which bring members together to cook Japanese dishes. Some participate in singing and elocution competitions organised by the Japanese embassy. There is also band called Wasabi Vibes that plays Japanese music accompanied by the tabla.
“It is both storytelling and Japanese culture,” said Victor. “Anime is not at all like other cartoons. They have emotions and good plot lines of all kinds. But beyond that, they have a philosophy of life. If you ever have a child, just put him in front of a television with anime and he will learn all anyone needs to know about friendship, loyalty, family and determination – about all the important things in life.”
Victor is certain that he will be as interested in anime and manga at 80 as he is at 29 – and what is more, that he will continue to make even more ambitious costumes for his own pleasure.
For now, MAC has its eyes on becoming a big enough subculture to attract bigger investors in the market. They say they don't aim to make profits but merely want to stop having to buy fake Chinese anime merchandise.
“The immediate effect of being a bigger presence is already showing,” said Majumder. “MFCC is already getting bigger and it has more cosplay awards in the anime and manga section. They also get merchandise and anime companies to attend. The Japanese Foundation will fly in two famous cosplayers from abroad. The bigger picture is to get the Japanese manga industry to see India as a serious market.”
The proposed Abe-Manmohan Singh nuclear deal has nothing on this.
