Mumbai – Crunchyroll is doubling down on its India push with a fresh campaign called “Ready to Anime?” starring Rashmika Mandanna and Indian cricket star Shubman Gill.
The two-part ad series dropped this week, with the first spot already airing during T20 World Cup matches and set to pop up again during Shark Tank India Season 5 episodes on Sony LIV. The idea is simple: catch people where they’re already watching live sports, reality TV, streaming and show them anime isn’t just for “otaku” anymore.
In the opening film, Rashmika plays herself on a shoot set, casually telling Shubman he should check out Solo Leveling. He keeps staring at his phone instead of listening. Everyone around looks confused; Rashmika just smiles. Punchline: he’s completely hooked on Crunchyroll, bingeing anime and barely noticing the real world. The message lands pretty cleanly once anime grabs you, good luck putting it down.Rashmika comes across as the genuine longtime fan, while Shubman plays the curious newcomer who gets pulled in fast.
Together they’re meant to bridge the gap between people who already love the medium and the much larger crowd that’s only starting to pay attention.Crunchyroll points to fresh numbers to back up the timing. A 2025 survey they commissioned from National Research Group showed 62% of regular entertainment viewers in India either “love” or “like” Japanese anime.
Among teenagers the figure jumps to 74%, which probably isn’t surprising to anyone who’s scrolled Instagram Reels lately.“As anime keeps growing here, it’s turning into just another normal part of what people watch every day,” said Raúl González Bernal, Crunchyroll’s VP of regional marketing. “Pairing a superfan like Rashmika with someone newer like Shubman two big names from completely different worlds shows how wide the appeal has already become.”
The campaign was put together by Tilt Brand Solutions and shot by StudioQ (both under Quotient Ventures). It’s running across TV, connected TVs, YouTube, Instagram, and other digital spots, with a second film expected sometime in the next few months.
Crunchyroll currently offers more than 900 titles in India, including over 160 dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. New episodes still drop the same day they air in Japan, and the basic subscription starts at ₹99 a month.
