Billionaire Mukesh Ambani‘s streamer JioCinema is launching Anime Hub, with a slate of popular Japanese titles in the genre.
Starting May 12, the hub will be headlined by the global simulcast of Season 4 of “Demon Slayer.” Highlights of the slate include: action-comedy “Spy x Family”; school chaos in “Assassination Classroom”; supernatural action-comedy “Mob Psycho 100”; time-traveling drama “Tokyo Revengers”; fantasy adventure “Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun”; psychological thriller “Welcome to the Elite”; fantasy “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime”; and mystery “The Junji Ito Maniac.”
With a view to growing the Otaku (anime fan) community in India, the hub will also offer a curated selection of hits and hidden gems, including “Bofuri: I Hate Getting Hurt,” “So I Put All My Skill Points Into Defense,” “My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!,” “The Familiar of Zero,” “Goblin Slayer” and “In/Spectre.”
The anime content is licensed from Taiwan-based anime distribution and licensing company Muse Communication, Variety understands.
The hub is part of the JioCinema Premium platform, which starts at monthly plan of INR29 (35 cents) for a single device or INR89 ($1.05) monthly for a family plan that covers four devices. The streamer is making a play to become India’s top streaming service by introducing low-cost premium tier plans and providing free access to the immensely popular Indian Premier League cricket tournament.
A JioCinema spokesperson said: “JioCinema Premium’s consumer-first approach has opened access to high-quality and diverse content for audiences across India. Our latest offering, Anime Hub offers a world of content that will keep anime fans entertained. From simulcast real-time global releases to hundreds of hours of top anime titles, we are confident that JioCinema’s Anime Hub will grow to become a destination of choice for anime fans in India.”
The growing popularity of anime in India is also evidenced by Warner Bros. Discovery’s focus on the genre on its broadcast channels slate.