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FunHub Odisha, Odisha Anime Club and Priyadarshan Dwivedy (DBS Chronicles) jointly organized an anime event, AniMetro, at Aangan Convention, Infocity, Bhubaneswar, Odisha on Nov 5, 2023.
Sanket Mhatre and Vaibhav Thakkar, who are popular Hindi dubbing artists along with social media influencers/creators in the Indian anime sphere, Tarun Saini (AnimeTM Talks) and Ken Xyro, were the special guests at the event.
The event was a resounding success, as over 400 anime fans flocked to the event to interact with each other and also with the special guests.
We are overwhelmed by the response! We did not expect this kind of response in our very first event. The energy in the crowd, the chants for the Cosplayers, the applauds for guests’ every single word… All this surprised each one of us, including the guests. They compared the energy of the crowd to be near to Delhi-Mumbai’s, and that is really a huge compliment for us.
Organizers of AniMetro
AniMetro started off with learning the Japanese panel hosted by Ken Xyro along with Farzaan Alli (FunHub Odisha) and Dwivedy. It was followed by the showcasing of clips from the anime edits competition and art contest. After this came a panel on History of Anime in India which was hosted by Tarun Saini and Ken Xyro.
Last session before lunch was Cosplay Contest with contestants showcasing their favorite characters. An online Cosplay workshop was held 31 October, 2023 to boost the confidence of our cosplay participants. The workshop was hosted by Meghna Rawat and Tanmay Bakshi from Delhi, where they shared tips and tricks for successful and budget-friendly cosplays.
Post lunch, merch stall hopping was held to boost the local anime culture. AniMetro’s final panel was with artists Sanket Mhatre and Vaibhav Thakkar going on a ‘Voiceover Voyage’ where they went through all their famous characters and gave a performance on stage, entertaining the audience.
The event wrapped up with guests’ felicitation, prize distribution among the contestants and autograph-photograph session of every event attendee with the special guests.
The event was termed a “smashing success” by Sanket Mhatre, who is popular for voicing Ben 10, Deadpool, Allu Arjun, Mahesh Babu in Hindi. Vaibhav Thakkar, who voiced Luffy in One Piece Live Action for the Hindi dub, too expressed his astonishment at the response of the crowd since it was the first such event taking place in Odisha.
“It’s Onwards and Upwards from here for the anime community in Odisha,” Thakkar added.
The general consensus of the special guests and organizers were that the fans who attended the event were amazing.
“We did not expect people to turn up in the numbers that they did. It was a wonderful crowd with the right kind of energy, completely tripping on anime love, yet so respectful and patient. I’m sure bigger and bigger events will follow AniMetro,” Mhatre said, praising the crowd who attended the event.
Tarun Saini and Ken Xyro too voiced similar opinions, stating that the crowd was “cheering and responding giving so much love” and that the audience wasn’t bored “for even a single minute because they were cheering, shouting, and clapping for hours.”
AniMetro had the following sponsors and partners:
- Merch Partner – OtakuArena, OldTown India and WeebShop
- Printing Partner – MerchShop.in
- Publishing Partner – Cosmics Entertainment
- Food Partner – Delhi Gharana
- Marketing Partner – Riseway Studio
- Tickets Partner – Fydo
Comments from the sponsors and partners are listed below:
OtakuArena: Not only this event was the first big event in Odisha. It was also the first big event for me as a merchandise partner as well as a brand owner who had the opportunity to open a stall during the event. I never expected such a big crowd and the people who visited a store were so lively and amazing that we sold out almost all our goods within the first three hours of the event, as for me, I cosplayed as a Chinese manhwa character and it was a lot of fun.
Hoping that these kinds of events keep happening once in every few months.
OldTown India: The event was great chance for us to reach out with the audience. The idea of inviting voice actors and youtubers was also a great idea. I wish you do this often and improve your management with more and more so that everything goes smooth.
DripFuel: The event was extremely well, the audience were really welcoming and friendly, had almost all our stock sold out, we were happy with the response and sales we made, even our co-stall members were nice as well.
Hooks and Yarns: ANIMETRO was an exhilarating journey for Hooks N Yarns! Our fusion of crochet and anime-inspired creations found a perfect home amidst the colourful cosplays and shared passion for all things anime. The positive energy and connections we made at the event were nothing short of 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 more shared adventures in the world of hooks, yarns, and anime!!
AniMetro ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The organizers revealed that they are planning to hold two instalments of this event every year and that the one in the next year will be even bigger.
AniMetro 2024 will be bigger than this. We are planning to host two AniMetros a year, with each being bigger than the previous one. Stay tuned to get your minds blown because we are about to set the Otaku culture in Odisha really high in the parameters of anime culture in India.
Organizers on future instalments of AniMetro
Source: Press Release
