FunHub Odisha, Odisha Anime Club and Priyadarshan Dwivedy (DBS Chronicles) jointly organized an anime event titled AniMetro at Aangan Convention, Infocity, Bhubaneswar, Odisha on 5 November 2023.
Sanket Mhatre and Vaibhav Thakkar, renowned Hindi dubbing artists along with creators/social media influencers in the Indian anime industry, Tarun Saini (AnimeTM Talks) and Ken Xyro, were the special guests special at the event.
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The event was a resounding success as over 400 anime fans flocked to the event to interact with each other as well as with special guests.
Credit to Sourav Satapathy and Sourav Sahoo
We are overwhelmed by the response! We didn’t expect this kind of reaction at our first event. The energy in the crowd, the Cosplayers’ chants, the applause for every word the guests said… All of this surprised each of us, including the guests. They compared the energy of the crowd near Delhi-Mumbai and that was a really big compliment for us.
AniMetro Organizing Committee
AniMetro started by studying the Japanese workshop organized by Ken Xyro along with Farzaan Alli (FunHub Odisha) and Dwivedy. This is followed by an introduction of clips from the anime editing contest and the art contest. This was followed by a discussion on the History of Anime in India chaired by Tarun Saini and Ken Xyro.
From left: Ankita Mohanty (FunHub), Sanket Mhatre, Farzaan Alli (FunHub), Vaibhav Thakkar, Jayashree Nag (FunHub), Ken Xyro, Subham Harichandan (Odisha Anime Club) and Tarun Saini (AnimeTM Talks) From left to right: Tarun Saini (AnimeTM Talks), Sanket Mhatre, Priyadarshan Dwivedy (DBS Chronicles), Vaibhav Thakkar, Ken Xyro
The last session before lunch was the Cosplay Contest with contestants portraying their favorite characters. Online Cosplay Workshop is organized on October 31, 2023 to enhance the confidence of cosplayers. The workshop was hosted by Meghna Rawat and Tanmay Bakshi from Delhi where they shared tips and tricks for successful makeup and staying on budget.
After lunch, merchandise sales were held to promote local anime culture. AniMetro’s final panel featured artists Sanket Mhatre and Vaibhav Thakkar in their’Dubbing Journey’ where they introduced all their famous characters and performed on stage, bringing entertainment for the audience.
The event ended with congratulations from the guests, awarding prizes to the contestants and taking autographed photos of everyone attending the event along with special guests.
The event was called a “resounding success” ” by Sanket Mhatre, who is famous for voicing Ben 10, Deadpool, Allu Arjun, Mahesh Babu in Hindi. Vaibhav Thakkar, who voices Luffy in One Piece Live Action with the Hindi dub, also expressed surprise at the crowd’s reaction as this was the first such event to take place in Odisha.
Credit to Sourav Satapathy
“From here, the anime community in Odisha will continue to move forward,” Thakkar added.
The general consensus among special guests and organizers was that the fans attending the event were amazing.
“We did not expect such a large number of people to attend. It was a great crowd with the right energy, absolutely loving anime but still very respectful and patient. I am sure that bigger and bigger events will follow AniMetro,” said Mhatre, praising the crowd that attended the event.
Tarun Saini and Ken screaming and clapping for hours.”
Ken Xyro and Tarun Saini
AniMetro has the following sponsors and partners:
Merchandise Partners – OtakuArena, OldTown India and WeebShop Print Partners – MerchShop.in Publishing Partners – Cosmics Entertainment Food Partners – Delhi Gharana Marketing Partners – Riseway Studio Ticket Partners – Fydo
Comments from sponsors and partners are listed below:
OtakuArena: Not only this event is also the first major event in Odisha. It was also the first big event for me as a business partner as well as a brand owner to have the opportunity to open a booth during the event. I never expected such a large crowd and the people who visited the store were so lively and wonderful that we sold out almost all of the merchandise within the first three hours of the event, while me, i cosplayed as a chinese manhwa character and it was awesome. Very happy.
Hopefully these types of events will continue to happen every few months.
OldTown India: This event is a great opportunity for us to reach out to our audience. The idea of inviting voice actors and youtubers is also a great idea. I wish you to do this regularly and increasingly improve your management abilities so that everything goes smoothly.
DripFuel: The event went extremely well, the audience was really welcoming and friendly, almost all of the stock was sold out, we were delighted with the response and sales achieved, even Our booth members were also very nice.
Hook and Yarn: ANIMETRO has been an exciting journey for Hooks N Yarns! Our mix of crochet and anime-inspired pieces have found a perfect home among colorful cosplay and a shared passion for all things anime. The positive energy and connections we made at this event were amazing. It’s not just an event; it’s a celebration of creativity and we’re grateful to be a part of it. Looking forward to sharing more adventures in the world of crochet, yarn and anime!!
AniMetro operates from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The organizers revealed that they are planning to hold two rounds of this event each year and that next year’s round will be even bigger.
AniMetro 2024 will be even bigger than this. We plan to hold two AniMetros per year, each AniMetro larger than the previous AniMetro. Stay tuned to get your mind blown as we are about to set the Otaku culture in Odisha to new heights within the parameters of anime culture in India.
Organizers of future AniMetro installments
Source: Press release