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The Waves Anime and Manga Contest (WAM!) might have been delayed, however, the response of the participants at Mumbai on March 23, 2025, in no way suggested that these minor hiccups mattered, as the event made a memorable comeback!
The event which took place at Whistling Woods International, Goregaon, attracted 297 participants competing across three key categories – Manga, Webtoon, and Anime.
Along with the main categories, the Voice Acting showdown attracted 34 participants and the Cosplay contest saw 45 participants donning the attires of their favorite characters.
The voice acting participants were judged by industry veterans including Ankur Javeri (Hindi voice behind Goku) and Sumeet Pathak (Actor, Chief Operating Officer & Managing Director, Gulmohar Media), as Neshma Chemburkar (who voiced Chi Chi in Dragon Ball Z Hindi dub) watched on from the audience as a guest.
Meanwhile the cosplay performances were judged by cosplayer Dakshata Pawar.
The panel of esteemed judges also included Mr. Sushil Bhasin (President, MEAI) and also Jazyl Homavazir (2D Animation Professional and Creator of Beast Legion).
In addition to the competition, WAM! Mumbai had a special segment in which attendees got an exclusive first look at TRIO, which is touted to be India’s first anime currently in development by Vaibhavi Studios. The event also had another small highlight, as the organizers celebrated Mr. Ankur Javeri’s birthday on stage.
WAM! Mumbai culminated with the winners of the competitions being announced.
WAM Mumbai 2025 winners:
Voice Acting Competition
- Winner – Chinchakar Ganesh Sanyog
- Runner-ups – Aditi Joshi & Payal Vishal
Cosplay Contest
- Winner – Kaizad Sheshbaradaran as Okarun
- First Runner-up – Yash Mokal as Monkey D. Luffy
- Second Runner-up – Esha Joshi as Robin
Manga Category
- Student Winner – Jay Kumar Nagori
- Professional Winner – Hriday Biswas
Webtoon Category
- Professional Winner – Eesha Chavan
Anime Category
- Student Winner – Chinmay Narote
- Professional Winner – Reubun Saldhana
Winners across the Manga, Webtoon, and Anime categories at the WAM! event in Mumbai were rewarded with WACOM Pen Tablets, goodies from Faber-Castell, official merchandise from TRIO, and cash prizes.
In addition to these common prizes, winners in the Anime category were offered the opportunity to receive English, Hindi, and Japanese dubs for their pilot episodes by Gulmohar Media. Furthermore, Toonsutra confirmed that the winning entries in the Webtoon category will have their work distributed on their platform.
Check out the images from the event below:
