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Indian-Animated Obocchama-kun Show Debuts in Japan at Nagoya Film Fest

The new Indian-animated Obocchama-kun show debuted at the 1st Aichi-Nagoya International Animation Film Festival on Sunday (ANIAFF). The Japanese entertainment news website Eiga.com posted pictures from the event:

Sidheswar Shukla directed the show at Green Gold Animation. The series will have 26 episodes, and will be targeted at children 6-11 years old. It will air on 'Sony YAY!.' The new anime project is being carried out together with Sony Pictures Networks India, Sony Group's local subsidiary. Under the supervision of Yoshinori Kobayashi, Shinei Animation is producing the scenario.

Out of the 52 parts produced in the new show, 10 parts are from the original anime and all the rest are original productions.

In an interview with Animation Xpress at the Animation & More Summit in September, business head at SPNI Ambesh Tiwari talked about the how the original Obocchama-kun anime became a huge success in India during the 2020 lockdowns. He noted how it was the efforts of the localization team that made the anime relatable to an Indian audience. Phrases like "Friendship ka tika" were not present in the original Japanese version, but it was touches such as these that made sure that Obocchama "looks like an Indian, sounds like an Indian." COO at Green Gold Animation Srinivas Chilakalapudi talked about how important it was for the team producing the new show to stay true to the original characters. Everybody watched at least 40 episodes of the original anime before production on the new show began. They added that the manga was timeless and Sony YAY! already has experience with historical IPs, being "home to Shinchan."

Maiko Sumida from TV Asahi attended the premiere and noted how author Yoshinori Kobayashi was the biggest supporter of the project. Kobayashi was delighted that his work was loved "in a country overflowing with hope and the future," knowing that India has 400 million children. They elaborated on the decision to produce the new series in India, stating that with huge demand from India for a sequel, it would not be ready in time if produced in Japan. So if they produced the scenario in Japan and produced the animation in India they could meet the scheduling demands.

The story centers on the antics of Gobo Chama, an heir to a wealthy family, who transfers to a school for the children of wealthy families. The series is known for its "Chama-go" (Chama language), the protagonist's own unique words.

Kobayashi's manga serialized in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine from 1986 to 1994. Shogakukan published 24 compiled book volumes of the manga.

Sources: ANIAFF's website, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web, Eiga.com