Crunchyroll partners with Tiger Shroff to promote anime in India

Global anime brand Crunchyroll has partnered with actor Tiger Shroff in order to establish a deeper and authentic connection with the young anime community in the country.

Crunchyroll, LLC, an independent joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment in the US and Aniplex in Japan, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation, made this announcement.

Partnering with Shroff, who has a wide mass appeal, will further elevate and evangelize the Crunchyroll anime brand, reaching fans across the region – from metropolitan cities to smaller villages and in-between, the company said in a statement. The actor’s strong affinity towards anime and his love for fitness and action make him the perfect choice considering the platform’s wide assortment of action-packed anime titles, it added.

“We are excited to welcome Tiger Shroff to the Crunchyroll family. As deeply passionate fans, we all have a shared love and respect for anime – its characters, artistry, storylines and the profound connections it makes with audiences around the world. We are excited to partner with him to share these powerful stories and promote the anime experience with millions more across India and beyond as we make Crunchyroll the ultimate home for anime fans,” Rahul Purini, president of Crunchyroll said in a statement.

To be sure, Japanese animation films like Suzume, which surpassed ₹10 crore in Indian box office sales earlier this year, are building on the popularity of anime on television screens. While TV shows such as Doraemon, Shin-Chan and Naruto remain favourites, industry experts recognize that Japanese anime fills a unique void in the country, appealing to not only young children and teenagers but also adults.

“Anime has the power to inspire, educate, and entertain, and together with Crunchyroll, I look forward to bringing the fandom closer to this vast and captivating world of possibilities and bolstering the anime culture in the country further,” Shroff said in a statement.