DAN DA DAN, Cosplay and Anime Classics: Mela! Mela! Anime Japan!! Opens Today in Delhi
The October 3–4 festival brings Japanese entertainment properties, cinema, live performances and anime-inspired travel experiences to Pacific Mall, building on an edition that attracted over 60,000 visitors in 2025.
NEW DELHI, October 3: From DAN DA DAN and Chibi Maruko-chan to big-screen adventures, cosplay showcases and destinations associated with anime, Mela! Mela! Anime Japan!! 2026 opens today at Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden, offering visitors a weekend that extends from watching Japanese entertainment to stepping into its fan culture. The two-day festival runs through Sunday, October 4, with free general admission and a mix of free and paid film screenings.
This year’s announced content lineup brings together Japanese intellectual properties—or IPs—across a varied selection of characters and stories. Alongside DAN DA DAN and Chibi Maruko-chan, participating properties include Ponkotsu Quest, the Zorori, Little Mouse and Osaji series, Nintama Rantaro and Phantom Baby. The organisers describe the 2026 offering as an expanded experience, combining established titles with new additions, interactive attractions and Japanese cultural showcases.
A distinctive element of the announced programme is the inclusion of exhibits inspired by Japanese destinations and anime pilgrimage sites. These bring the places associated with Japanese storytelling into the festival experience, alongside displays of Japanese products and services, food stalls and entertainment. Organised by the Mela! Mela! Anime Japan!! Executive Committee with support from dentsu India, the event combines a public festival with an exhibition and business networking platform.
For cinema enthusiasts, the Japanese Film Festival collaboration offers 17 screenings across two auditoriums at PVR Pacific Mall. The selection moves between fantasy, superhero action, music, football, mythology, psychological suspense and science fiction, giving audiences a choice beyond a single genre of animation. Six screenings are ticketed and 11 are free.
Today’s ticketed selection features Suzume, My Hero Academia: You’re Next and Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing, followed by a free evening screening of Perfect Blue. Sunday brings The Place Promised in Our Early Days, Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama and Blue Lock The Movie – Episode Nagi –, with Ghost in the Shell concluding the auditorium’s programme.
Other free presentations include Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Treasure Island, Witch Hat Atelier, Nippon Sangoku, and Ninjaboy Rantaro in Hindi and English versions. The programme therefore includes both feature films and shorter or series-based presentations. Visitors attending free screenings must collect admission tickets from the JFF counter in front of PVR, beginning 90 minutes before the relevant show.
Away from the cinema, cosplay gives fans an opportunity to become part of the spectacle. A cosplay showcase is planned, and visitors are welcome to attend dressed as their favourite characters. The festival’s visitor guidance notes that changing rooms will not be available at the venue, making advance preparation necessary for those arriving in costume.
Live stage events, including concerts by anime-song singers and Japanese idols, will add a musical dimension to the weekend. Together with the cosplay showcases and interactive experiences, these form the participatory side of a programme that also invites visitors to explore Japanese cuisine and exhibitor stalls.
The festival returns after welcoming more than 60,000 visitors in 2025, according to the organisers. Last year’s announced attractions included the premiere of Shin chan: The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers, appearances by anime singers Daisuke Hasegawa and AKINO from bless4, and a cosplay showcase. Those offerings established the combination of cinema, music and fan participation on which the current edition builds.
For returning visitors, the draw this weekend is the opportunity to explore the 2026 mix of participating properties, screenings and experiences; for newcomers, the free-entry format provides a way into several facets of Japanese popular culture in one venue.
Mela! Mela! Anime Japan!! is open from 11 am to 10 pm today and 11 am to 8 pm tomorrow. While general admission is free, individual activities may require registration or tickets, and selected cinema screenings carry a charge.
