India, July 4 -- A few years ago, if you stopped someone on the street in India to ask them what their favourite anime was, they'd say Dragon Ball Z. Or Naruto. Or One Piece. Or Demon Slayer.

Today, you'd probably get more niche picks: The Apothecary Diaries, Re:Zero, Rent-A-Girlfriend, and Zenshu. Streaming networks have tapped into the genre's popularity. Last month, Tiger Shroff and Rashmika Mandanna teamed up with anime streamer Crunchyroll to promote new Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu dubs of current and classic series. Fan clubs thrive as far away as Nagpur and Ranchi. Indian brands such as The Souled Store and Bewakoof sell Naruto and One Piece merch. At Comic Con India this year, there were ninjas and princess commanders amid the super...