Anime streaming giant Crunchyroll has partnered with the Media & Entertainment Association of India (MEAI) to become the title sponsor for the WAVES Anime & Manga Contest (WAM!) 2025.
As part of the sponsorship, Crunchyroll has introduced a Creator Development Grant aimed at supporting emerging Indian talent in anime, manga, and webtoons.
The newly established grant will provide financial assistance to the winners of WAM! across several categories to aid in the development of original intellectual properties (IPs).
The grant amounts are specified as:
- Manga (Student Category): INR 25,000
- Manga (Professional Category): INR 25,000
- Webtoon (Student Category): INR 25,000
- Webtoon (Professional Category): INR 25,000
- Anime (Student Category): INR 50,000
- Anime (Professional Category): INR 50,000
“This partnership with Crunchyroll marks a pivotal moment for India’s creator community,” said Ankur Bhasin, Secretary of MEAI. “By investing directly in emerging artists, Crunchyroll is helping turn dreams into reality and giving a powerful global platform to Indian voices in anime, manga, and webtoons.”
WAM! is India’s first national initiative focused on promoting original Indian IPs in anime, manga, webtoons, and cosplay. It serves as a key component of the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025, organized by MEAI and supported by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India.
WAVES 2025, India’s largest summit for the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) and media industries, begins today, May 1, and runs until May 4 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. The summit is scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Source: Press Release
