Otakus, assemble! Mumbai to host first-ever Anime Voice Fest for fans

In 2021 a New Delhibased psychologist set out on a journey to create a group of otakus anime enthusiasts which he named Anime Group India ldquoWe started out as a small group and now are a registered community organisation that not only brings anime lovers together but also contributes towards promoting indie artistesrdquo says 27yearold founder Dr Shubham Singhal He is set to bring one of its most soughtafter events Anime Voice Fest to Mumbai for the first time on SundayCosplayers take the stage at the previous edition of the festldquoAnime is so much more than just entertainment For me it is the reason why I pursued psychologyrdquo Singhal reveals adding that the deep layers in every story and the focus on its characters mdash be it a side character the lead or even the villain mdash made him develop interest in all kinds of human behaviour ldquoThese are characters written by real people Even though most of it is fiction and even fantasy it is important to note that these thoughtprovoking narratives are inspired from the human world and thus tell us so much about why we behave in a certain wayrdquo he saysPanellists answer audience questionsHis two favourite animes are polar opposites namely Fairy Tail which inspires friendship and camaraderie and Naruto Shippuden which teaches you how to overcome abandonment and learn to rise back up alone His own Fairy Tail moment arrived when he found himself struggling at times with Anime Group India and his friend Yusuf Man and sister Komal Singh saw him through ldquoThey are my backbonerdquo Singhal smilesSinghal is a cosplayer winner of Konichiwa Japan 2019 and tells us that the dressing upasyourfavouriteanimecharacter activity is a must at these events But what makes for the core of this particular event is when Indian voice artistes will take to the stage ldquoWhen you watch dubbed versions of anime in Hindi you follow the characters but never recognise the voices behind themMerchandise from the popular anime seriesVoice actors are so crucial to the narratives which are originally made in foreign languages but they donrsquot get any recognition simply because they are invisible However the moment you tell people that this is the face behind your favourite childhood cartoon or anime it fills them with wonder and nostalgia They wish to see the artistes perform The motive of Anime Voice Fest is to give a platform to such artistes and for the audience to relive their fond childhood memoriesrdquo reveals SinghalThe itinerary also consists of a cosplay and talent contest anime quiz anime music and a YouTuberrsquos panel ldquoIn this event otakus and weebs will be able to meet and interact with cosplay characters from different anime voice artists and anime YouTubers They also stand a chance to win exciting prizes for the anime quiz contest and cosplay competition Mumbaikar otakus know about the craze and excitement around the previous editions of Anime Voice Fest And now that we have the extensive itinerary we really look forward to itrdquo vouches Rivika Khanna founder of Mumbai Anime Corps which is also one of the media partnersShubham SinghalThe event will see a host of beloved anime YouTubers including Daniyal Ultimate Hakai KTZH TV and ZenDrago X Mumbairsquos Jazyl Homavazir will stream his webcomic Beast Legionrsquos intro as well as his KrishaXNaruto fan animation The cherry on top for this event is undoubtedly the official anime merchandise available for sale which will also be distributed among select participantsOn September 17 3 pm onwardsAt ASPEE Auditorium Laxminarayan Mandir Complex next to Nutan School Malad WestLog on to linktreeanimegroupindiaEntry Rs 350 onwardsMeet the star voiceover artistesThe voiceover artistes include Rajesh Kava the voice for Daniel Radcliffe in the Hindi iteration of the Harry Potter series Buggy in One piece liveaction and Sasuke in Naruto Sanket Mhatre the voice of Lord Ramrsquos character in The Legend of Hanuman Deadpool Green Lantern Batman Captain America and Zoro Ketan Kava the voice for Kai in Beyblade Robin in Teen Titans Go Tongari in Kiteretsu Kabuto Yakushi in Naruto Miles Morales and Barry in Pokemon Shanoor Mirza the voice actor for Dexter SpongeBob Shaggy Oswald Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series Superman and Lightning McQueen Meghana Erande voice of Ninja Hattori Noddy Maruko Chan Pako in Perman officer Jenny in Pokemon Dorami in Doraemon and Sandy in SpongeBob SquarePants and Vaibhav Thakkar the Indian voice for Tom Holland in Spiderman Luffy in One piece liveaction Kid Goku for Dragon Ball Z Tyson in Beyblade Gru in MinionsThe rise of Gru and Phineas in Phineas and Ferb