The state-level qualifying rounds for the WAVES Anime & Manga Contest (WAM!) concluded with its Bengaluru chapter occasion held on April 15, 2025. The stage is now set for the winners upcoming Nationwide Finale at WAVES 2025.
The ultimate qualifier came about at VVN Diploma Faculty in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru. The occasion noticed participation from various age teams, together with contestants as younger as 9 years previous, and drew creators from different cities like Raipur and Chennai.
A jury panel, together with Veerendra Patil (Founder, Zebu Animation), Ajay Apparoop (Head of Particular Initiatives, Studio Illuzion), Sushil Bhasin (Chairman & Managing Director, Bhasin Group), and Vishakh Vijayan (ToonSutra), evaluated entries primarily based on creativeness, technical talent, and storytelling.
A word was manufactured from the Indian-themed narratives and worldbuilding throughout the classes.
Winners introduced on the Bengaluru occasion throughout numerous classes have been:
- Manga: Rohit Sharma (Pupil), Mukunda Ok (Skilled)
- Webtoon: Vishal Maravi (Skilled)
- Anime: Ganesh (Skilled)
- Cosplay: Puneeth v (Winner), Prerana Bagrecha (Runner Up), Sherone D’Souza (Second Runner Up)
- Voice Performing: Poonam Tripathi (Winner), Sherone D’Souza (Runner Up)
Winners from the Bengaluru spherical, together with these from earlier state-level competitions, will now advance to the WAM! Nationwide Finale, scheduled to be held through the WAVES – World Audio Visible Leisure Summit (WAVES) 2025 occasion which can be held Might 1-4, 2025.
Individuals within the finale will compete for prizes together with an all-expense-paid journey to symbolize India at Anime Japan 2026 in Tokyo. Further help for nationwide winners consists of dubbing for anime pilots by Gulmohar Media and digital distribution for webtoons through Toonsutra.
“WAM! Bengaluru exceeded all expectations. As the ultimate state-level qualifier, it was a showcase of uncooked expertise and boundless creativeness,” acknowledged Ankur Bhasin, Secretary of MEAI. He added that Bengaluru proved itself a hub for creators who can be showcased on the nationwide platform.
The Bengaluru occasion additionally marked the official launch of the Anime Bengaluru Membership, a brand new group group for native followers.
Founder-President Sayantan Ghosh shared that the membership will manage common meetups, anime watch events, manga studying circles, and different community-building actions all year long.
The WAM! initiative is supported by the Ministry of Info & Broadcasting, Authorities of India, and operates as a part of WAVES, described because the nation’s largest summit for the Audio Visible, Gaming, Comics, and Prolonged Actuality (AVGC-XR) trade.
Organized by the Media & Leisure Affiliation of India (MEAI), WAM! goals to advertise authentic Indian mental property in anime, manga, webtoons, and cosplay.
