WAM! (WAVES Anime & Manga Contest) made a thrilling stop in Chennai at Raj Park Hotel, celebrating the vibrant world of anime, manga, webtoons, and voice acting. With over 90 participants from across Tamil Nadu and even as far as Pondicherry, the event was a hub of artistic energy and storytelling brilliance.

The Media & Entertainment Association of India (MEAI), in collaboration with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, and Karnavati University, proudly hosted this edition of WAM!, reinforcing its commitment to nurturing India’s rising creative stars.

Following successful editions in Guwahati, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, and Ahmedabad, WAM! Chennai continued to uphold the spirit of the “Create in India” initiative.

Empowering Creators with WAM!

WAM! is an integral initiative under WAVES (World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit – https://wavesindia.org/), India’s largest AVGC-XR and media industry platform. WAM! serves as a national stage for emerging artists, animators, webtoonists, and voice talents to showcase their abilities and launch careers.

Participants competed in:

• Manga (Japanese-style comics)

• Webtoons (digital vertical comics)

• Anime (animation inspired by Japanese aesthetics)

• Voice Acting (dubbing & character performance)

Exciting Prizes & Career Launchpads

Winners from the WAM! series stand to win:

• WACOM Pen Tablets

• Faber-Castell Goodies

• Official TRIO Merchandise

• Cash Prizes

Additional opportunities:

• Winning anime pilots will be dubbed in Hindi, English, and Japanese to gain international visibility.

• Toonsutra will distribute winning webtoons to a global digital audience.

Winners

• Voice Acting Winner: Raeeza

• Manga (Student) Winner: Haris Raj T

• Manga (Professional) Winner: S. Balagurumoorthi

• Anime (Student) Winner: Gnanashekar, Vikram S

Jury Panel

• Sushil Bhasin, Chairman, Bhasin Group & President, MEAI

• Abhishek Prakash, Director - Content & New Media, Tick Entertainment & GIRI

• Navin Daswani, Founder - Super Audio Madras (Geethanjali) and Klay Studios

“WAM! Chennai is a vibrant showcase of India’s untapped anime and manga talent. We are thrilled to provide this creative platform and look forward to supporting many of these young artists on their journey to global recognition,” said Ankur Bhasin, Secretary, Media & Entertainment Association of India.