‘Naruto’ was my first introduction to Anime: Rashmika Mandanna

Mumbai: Actress Rashmika Mandanna recently opened up about her passion for anime, revealing that her journey began with "Naruto" when she was just 12 years old. In a video on her YouTube channel, Rashmika spoke about her fondness for the genre while getting her hair and makeup done to portray an anime character.

Talking about when she was first introduced to the genre, Rashmika recalled: “That was that one year in my schooling that I was a day boarder. When I used to come back home I did not have friends in my neighbourhood to play with… So, I remember going back to my room and sitting and watching TV.”

She recalled how much she enjoyed watching popular shows like "Dragon Ball Z" and "Pokemon" during her childhood. “So, when I was changing the channel I found Animax and it was the time they were playing ‘Naruto’. So, Naruto was my first introduction to anime. Cut to I watched season 1 I think and on TV then they stopped.”

When these series were no longer airing on TV, she took it upon herself to explore more and ended up watching over 600 episodes of "Naruto," a Japanese manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. The story follows Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja striving for recognition and aspiring to become the Hokage, the leader of his village.

“I started googling about it and I read about it and I found a website which had all the episodes and they were some 600-800 episodes,” she added. “I was around 12 or 13 years old when I first got close to anime,” she said.

Rashmika also mentioned that she has watched more than 40 different anime series, often binge-watching up to 25 or 30 episodes in one sitting. Her enthusiasm for anime continues to grow, and she enjoys sharing this part of her life with her fans.

Agency