In Conversation With AniTuber Tarun Saini of AnimeTm Talks
IGN India interviewed one of India's top anime YouTubers, a leading voice in the Indian anime community.
Editor's note: IGN India got access to AnimeTm at the AniMetro convention for this interview.
AnimeTm Talks stands out among YouTube channels about anime, as Tarun Saini and Rajat Thakre dive deep into their passion for anime, offering in-depth analysis and opinionated reviews on Japanese shows and movies, and more.
While numerous AniTubers (anime YouTubers) in India concentrate on popular shonen shows, AnimeTm is one of the few channels that not only shines a light on anime from different genres but also introduces classics and lesser-known shows to the community. This unique approach has established them as influential figures within the Indian anime community.
IGN caught up with Tarun at the AniMetro convention held in Odisha last month. We delved into the origins of their YouTube channel, the challenges they face in creating anime content for an Indian audience, and much more.
Talking about the inspiration behind launching AnimeTm, Tarun expressed a simple urge to share something cool with others.“The inspiration of starting AnimeTm was the simple desire of sharing the amazing anime shows with as many people as we could,” Tarun shared. “Death Note was a show that impressed me so much, it was unbelievable that someone could come up with something like that and not only make it smart and complex but making it so addictive that I was watching it non-stop for three days instead of preparing for my board exams. No one else I knew had watched the show, and I just wanted to make more people in India watch and appreciate it. I think that is one desire that most anime fans have in common.”
Even though anime is gaining popularity in India, it remains a niche interest, still in the process of being discovered by many, with a lack of awareness about the community culture. Creating content for such a niche audience is undeniably challenging. For Tarun, one of the primary challenges as an AniTuber is catering to both the casual anime viewers and the hardcore anime enthusiasts. “There is a huge divide in just the ‘shonen anime audience’ and the audience that follows others shows seasonally as well,” he explained. “So we have to keep a balance in covering seasonal shows, underrated shows, and popular shonen shows.”
Watching Akuma Kun. Rare to see ghost/supernatural stuff in anime. I'm so loving it.
The background art🤌 pic.twitter.com/OWYw5H289v — AnimeTM Talks (@animetm_talks) November 13, 2023
Tarun sees a transformative future for anime in India, foreseeing the emergence of modern classic shows and the box office success of anime movies, much like in other countries. “Anime is still yet to see an actual rise of the best of the shows,” Tarun noted. “Like Death Note, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and other classic shows have enjoyed phenomenal success in the West when they were released, I'd like some new amazing top-notch shows to get a similar amount of boom in India, so that we are also the part of this growing industry along with the rest of the world. Getting good anime movies on the big screen and them being able to enjoy huge success in India like cinema from other countries is how I see the future of anime in India.”
In terms of anime in India, there has been a noticeable increase in anime being dubbed in regional languages. Previously seen on television, exclusive dubs for streaming platforms are now becoming the norm. Tarun emphasised the importance of dubbed anime in broadening its reach to a larger audience in India.“The Hindi dubbed anime content, irrespective of how the core anime audience, who are used to watching with either English subs or dubs, sees it, is really important to give anime an exposure among the people who are not confident with watching shows in English. Even when I was in school, I used to search for anime shows in Hindi before I ultimately transitioned to English,” Tarun revealed. “And not just that, sometimes people who can understand English might not want to look at subtitles all the time, it is just a personal preference, and there are a lot of people like that, maybe even more than the current anime audience. It is an untapped market and should be explored to its full potential.”
On the AnimeTm channel, Tarun has been documenting his adventure of watching One Piece and catching up with its episodes, frequently expressing his thoughts on specific arcs or stories he recently viewed. He revealed that his favourite arc from the anime is the Thriller Bark arc. “I'm a huge horror nerd and it was just perfect. As they say, One Piece has something for everyone. It is so vast and imaginative with the things it explores, that you can't help but ultimately fall in love with the show.”
Lastly, speaking about his favourite anime, Tarun shared, “I prefer watching neatly tied stories, which are just perfect from start to finish and respect each and every minute you give to them. So keeping that in mind, my favourite shows are Death Note, Attack on Titan, Steins; Gate, Monster by Naoki Urasawa, and Summertime Rendering.
“When it comes to movies, I prefer the ones that leave an everlasting emotional impact on me, so much so that I end up watching them again and again. My favourite ones are A Silent Voice, 5 Centimeters per Second, I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, and Your Name.”
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Rayan Sayyed is a staff writer for IGN India with a primary focus on Asian entertainment spanning from anime, manga, games to films and dramas from the East. You can reach out to him at rayan_sayyed@ign.com, or find him on Twitter @rayanaver and Instagram @rayansayyed.
