The BILA Wave

By Gabriella Dure

Megan Thee Stallion, Michael B. Jordan, and Samuel L. Jackson. What do these names have in common? Besides being famous Black celebrities, they’re also vocal fans of anime. While it has become mainstream recently, anime has had an influence on Black and Brown culture for the past few decades. Anime has a clear influence on Western consumers, but what is anime?

Anime is roughly defined as animation originating from Japan, but it has broadened to include animation from East Asian countries or anything imitating the art style and plotlines. While anime is thought to have a stereotypical art style with big eyes and sharp hair, it can come in a diverse array of mediums. Technically speaking, the first anime to be received by Americans included those produced by Toei Animation in the 1960s. The most famous example would be Astro Boy, a series following a humanoid robot meant to replace his creator’s late son. Astro Boy had rather dark themes like war, setting it aside from common cartoons. While it had a popular reception, it soon fell into obscurity because of its violence and mono-color animation.

However, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, anime had a resurgence in American media. Shows like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Naruto became popular among young kids and teens. Our very own Ms.Bhehaspat was born and raised during this time and has some opinions regarding anime as a whole.

“I think anime is a beautiful and interesting art form,” answered Ms.Bhehaspat about her opinions of anime. Ms.Bhehaspat also continued to explain how it “inspires creativity” and “influences art styles.” One major example of this is the hit show Avatar: The Last Airbender, also known as A:TLA. A:TLA was very popular during the late 2000s for its somewhat mature themes paired with its lighthearted characters. The Last Airbender followed a similar comedic approach to many shonen anime and had an art style to match. With highlighted eyes and chibi closeups, Avatar brought a Westernized take to Japanese animation.

When asked what makes anime memorable, Ms.Bhehaspat replied, “It’s memorable because of the message and complexities… It feels like you’re a part of the story.”

Anime had an impact on kids then and now. Because of the hidden messages and themes, anime can actually mature with its viewers. A famous example is the series Naruto. Naruto follows its titular character on his journey to becoming the Hokage, the strongest ninja, and leader of his village. Naruto starts as a pubescent, impish boy before maturing and acknowledging his responsibilities to others. As the show aired, viewers could see how the characters of the show changed over time, thus offering the satisfaction of sticking around for so many years.

But what do younger generations think? Is it just a millennial trend? Well, here at BILA, anime still plays an active role in Black and Brown culture. With our very own club and casual watchers, anime continues to be a popular option for entertainment.

According to Junior Dawens Gracia-Romain, “Anime is pretty cool and entertaining”. When asked how he thought anime shaped the Black and Brown community, Dawens answered, “Hoodboys used to watch DragonBall and Naruto back in the day… Anime has been here for a while, but people didn’t feel comfortable sharing about it. This has been true until recent years. It’s common for new anime fans to remember starting it in their middle school years or during quarantine. Staying bored inside left them eager for new stimuli, and the action-packed animated sequences offered just that.

Specifically, anime presents a means of escape for its viewers of color. Often, in the real world, young Black and Brown watchers might face class struggles or social problems. Instead, fantastical places can have viewers indulge in otherworldly shows. It becomes a breeding ground for diverse ideas. You might see one of your favorite artists refer to anime in their songs. For example, famous rapper Cochise loves to mention shows like Tokyo Ghoul and One Piece in his songs.

Senior Johnathan Brooks agrees. According to him, “We’re able to create content and [engrain it] into our own culture, like handshakes and our own clothing.” You’ll often see teens dapping each other up with a mix of hand signs from Naruto or having a heated debate on who’s the strongest character of all time. Even hoodies adorned with hiragana or sakura flowers, the national flower of Japan, can be seen worn by teenagers.

Anime can also be used as a bonding method between family members. Johnathan explained how his “own brother was the main person that introduced [him] to anime, with him [his brother] being a Dragon Ball fan.” While not true for everyone, cousins and siblings can form a fellowship over being fans of the same anime.

One major issue, however, with anime is the lack of skin tones present in the series. If a character did have dark skin, they were likely seen as jokes or caricatures, not actual people. Along with toxic viewpoints from many non-Black and Brown fans, it may often leave fans of color feeling excluded or isolated from the community despite playing a huge role in its success.

Japan has its fair share of colorism in its society. Many fashion styles, like gyaru, were made to combat that. However, diversity has made huge strides in the anime industry. There are even anime that have people of color as main characters! Twenty years ago, it might’ve been impossible for melanated fans to see a character that looked like them, but now it’s more popular than you might think.

Overall, anime has become a major part of pop culture, especially in the Black and Brown community. With songs, clothes, and art being based on anime, the impact anime has on creativity is clear. The bond between them can produce cult classics like The Boondocks or Teen Titans. Either way, enjoying Japanese animation has been welcomed as a new pastime.

• Shonen: A genre of Japanese comics and animated films aimed primarily at a young male audience, typically characterized by action-filled plots. (https://en.bab.la/)
• Chibi: Japanese slang for small/short. Usually, a style of caricature originating in Japan, and common in anime and manga where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby with stubby limbs, oversized heads, and minimal detail. (https://midlibrary.io/)
• Hiragana: the more cursive and more widely used form of kana (syllabic writing) used in Japanese, especially used for function words and inflections. (Oxford Dictionary)
• Gyaru: Japanese Katakana for girl in English. A subculture which originated in Shibuya (a district in Tokyo) in the ’90s as a rebellion against the stereotypical beauty standard of having pale skin and dark hair. (Hellolizziebee.com)