Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, conceived by Yugo Sako and directed by Koichi Sasaki and Ram Mohan, is recognized as one of the earliest anime adaptations of an Indian epic. This film revolutionized the animation landscape by introducing Indian mythology to global audiences through the lens of Japanese anime.
With a team of 450 artists, the film was animated using nearly 100,000 hand-drawn cells. Sako chose traditional hand-drawn animation over computer animation because he believed it best captured the warmth and humanity of the Ramayana. Many of the animators who worked on the project later contributed to iconic productions such as Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z, Doraemon, and films from Studio Ghibli, further cementing the film’s influence on the animation industry.
Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama also introduced a unique collaboration between Japanese anime techniques and Indian storytelling, blending the artistic traditions of the two countries in a way that had never been done before.
Now remastered in 4K, Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama is set to see its first-ever pan-India release in four languages—English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu—during the Indian festive season of Dussehra and Diwali.