Today we are visiting the city of joy, Kolkata, where anime enthusiasts have found a place to enjoy themselves: The Otaku Guild, a community dedicated to celebrate and integrate anime culture into everyday life. Started from a shared passion among friends, The Otaku Guild has grown into a thriving community with over 2,000 followers on Instagram and over 700 members in their WhatsApp community. The Otaku Guild hosts various engaging events throughout the year, each designed to cater to different aspects of anime fandom, and this time they are back with a standout event that has never been seen before in the Indian Anime Community.
Otaku Olympete, a sports event inspired by beloved sports anime series like Kuroko’s Basketball, Slam Dunk and Haikyu!!, the events aims to celebrate the dynamic energy of sports anime while bringing that same spirit to real-life competitions. Sports anime often highlights themes of teamwork, perseverance, and personal growth, and The Otaku Guild aims to embody these values in Otaku Olympete. By organizing tournaments and events based on popular sports anime, they try to blend the excitement of anime with the thrill of live sports, allowing fans to experience their favourite stories tangibly and interactively.
Otaku Olympete is a series of sports tournaments inspired by various animes which will be conducted both online and offline. The first event of this series was a chess competition held online on the lichess.org platform. The chess tournament was based on Death Note which is not a sports anime, but the battle of wits between Light and L has led to this inspiration. With participation from across the globe to a successful completion of event. The event was a grand success indeed. The results for the chess tournament are as follows: Rahul Bose secured first place, and Aji Bagus Wicaksono secured second place.
Otaku Olympete will also include other sports tournaments inspired by various anime, as mentioned below:
- Kuroko’s Basketball/Slam Dunk – Teams will compete in a 3v3 format, mimicking the intense matches seen in the anime.
- Blue Lock – This will be a 5v5 tournament where several teams will compete against each other on the turf to score the final goal.
- Haikyu – The matches will be in a 7v7 format to determine whose jumps are the highest while smashing the opposing teams.
- Boundary (an Indian Manga) – The Otaku Guild Team was intrigued by the Cricket-based Manga from Cosmics Entertainment. This inspired them to capture the spirit of ‘Boundary’ and extend the story beyond 22 yards.
With Otaku Olympete 2024, the Otaku Guild’s main goal is for participants to depart with a sense of accomplishment, community, and inspiration.
We also have a special message from the founder of The Otaku Guild, Nabaneet Mondal
Nowadays, ordinary meetups have become too monotonous for us. According to our belief, sports help bind communities and build individuals' character. For us, it's a long-term endeavour aimed at fostering Kolkata’s Otaku culture to greater heights. We anticipate the formation of new friendships, the strengthening of spirits, and the forging of strong bonds among guild members.
- Nabaneet Mondal, Founder of The Otaku Guild
