The Bittersweet Taste of Black Anime Fan Experience

What was once a niche interest or guilty pleasure, Japanese animation (more commonly called “anime”), has become mainstream and interwoven with popular global culture. Characters like Pikachu from Pokémon and Sailor Moon and Naruto from their respective titular series can be found on countless forms of merchandise far outside Japan. Odds are that you or someone you know is a fan of one anime series or another. The mass of stories told across various genres has attracted the attention of diverse viewers worldwide.  

As anime has increased in popularity, it has become steadily more cross-cultural as it influences and is influenced by other forms of global pop culture. In particular, Black culture has been noted to have a noticeable impact on anime and vice versa. Musical genres like hip-hop and jazz have been meaningfully incorporated in anime as in Afro Samurai and Samurai Champloo. From rap to RnB, the influence of anime can be seen in the music videos of Black artists like Denzel Curry and Canadian-born musician The Weeknd.

Over the years, the image of the stereotypical anime fan has been flipped on its head, as Black celebrities have proudly shared their passion for anime. Grammy-award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion habitually references anime in her music and is known for her stunning cosplays, where she dresses up as anime characters, complete with a glamorous twist. Celebrity athletes like the NFL’s Jamaal Williams and tennis star Coco Gauff have also spoken publicly about watching and being inspired by anime.

Even with these public figures, being a Black fan of anime can be a bittersweet experience as anti-Blackness pervades on-screen and fan spaces.

A frequent topic of discussion has been the offensive depiction of Black characters like Popo from Dragon Ball Z and Sister Krone from The Promised Neverland. Usopp, a Black character from the massively popular series One Piece, has been the subject of discourse due to his exaggerated lips and the gradual whitening of his skin throughout the show. Such representations of the few unambiguously Black characters in anime can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and are disheartening for Black viewers.

This is not to say that all Black characters in anime are depicted offensively. Aran from Haikyuu!!, Canary from HunterxHunter, and Carole from Carole and Tuesday are just a few examples of unambiguously Black characters that are not presented as caricatures.

For many of us, however, being a fan doesn’t end with watching the show or reading the book. Our attachment to stories and the desire to form real-world connections with others about these stories make the fan experience a hobby and social activity. Participating in online and in-person fan communities provides audiences with unique ways of interacting with source material and offers opportunities to make connections with diverse audiences. Many fans of anime (and other forms of media) use their talents in fashion, makeup, writing, and visual arts (and more!) to participate in fan culture and show their appreciation for their favourite shows.

What is usually a positive form of community-building can be an unpleasant experience for Black fans who share their work. Many Black fans who engage in the popular practice of cosplay by dressing up as anime characters receive offensive comments discouraging them from doing so or stating that Black fans should only cosplay Black characters. Within these comments is the implication that Blackness is incompatible with anime.

Black fans may engage in fan culture in unique ways that interweave their Blackness and their interest in anime. Some fans choose to re-imagine and re-design anime characters as Black in their art or writing. The reasons for doing so vary for each person, whether it is a form of self-expression, an opportunity to further relate to characters on-screen, or to address the lack of Black characters in anime. Regardless of the reason, these fan practices stem from a love of a series and a desire to form a community, yet they are often met with vitriolic comments from prejudiced audiences.

In an expression of defiance and resilience, Black anime fans have created online and in-person spaces to connect over mutual interests and experiences. #28DaysofBlackCosplay and #blacktober are online events encouraging Black fans across fandoms to share their creations and increase the visibility of Black fans globally. DreamCon is an annual American anime convention created by RDCWorld, a popular group of online video creators who got their start uploading anime-inspired skits on YouTube. The event encourages fans from all backgrounds to enjoy a weekend dedicated to anime, comics, and gaming.

The films, shows, and books we engage with have always been windows, mirrors, and doors for us to see ourselves and learn about others. Fan communities formed for these media allow us to make real-time connections and widen our horizons about the relevant themes and overarching narratives we enjoy.  

Appreciating anime as the wide-reaching, cross-cultural phenomenon it has become can help casual and diehard fans be more amenable to the abundant ways people participate in fan culture. When fan spaces make room for the diverse contributions of the equally diverse fanbase, they become arenas for healthy discussions that can strengthen our appreciation for the series that brought us together in the first place.

About the author: Taeja McKoy's doctoral research focuses on Black fandom, investigating how Black fans navigate and shape fan communities while contending with racial biases. Drawing on Critical Race Theory, her work seeks to validate and amplify Black fan experiences in anime and broader fan studies. A dedicated scholar and researcher, she has presented her work at academic colloquia and contributes to community-based research as a consultant. McKoy's research highlights the importance of media representation and the agency of marginalized voices in fan culture.

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