The Power of Crunchyroll's Black Creative Magic
Joseph Watkins
Crunchyroll’s Virtual Experience is quite possibly one of the easiest Virtual Cons (VCs) to navigate. Loaded with panels of amazing content, I couldn’t contain myself as I navigated the awesomeness Crunchyroll created for its patrons. With the website dubbed, New Crunchy City, the panels were available in the appearance of:
The Anime Arts District, which celebrated creativity in the form of fan-made art.
The Crunchyroll Theater District - Where the main action happened as it was loaded with premieres, panels, screenings, and some very special guests appearances.
The Central Shopping District – Where you got a first look at exhibitors and their merchandise.
The Super Arcade - Home to the unique V-CRX content like the Onyx Equinox scavenger hunt, Yuzu Cat Café, and exclusive art galleries.
Followed by…
The Crunchyroll stage, which featured a mix of guest panels, Crunchyroll Originals, and other unique curated content.
Hime Stage, which featured a mix of exciting industry and staff panels.
Sudachi Stage, which featured an anime marathon and a few special industry panels.
Yuzu Stage – Featuring all the fan panels.
Amazing, exciting, and a great wrap up to the summer Virtual Cons (VCs), Crunchyroll went nonstop on this one as they were supplying us with a great experience in the world of anime, manga and merchandise.
New Crunchy City
Virtual Shopping Experience
The first part of my travel went to the Anime Arts District where I wanted to get my hands on some merch. From A-Z (minus V & W), artists placed their stores on VCRX to showcase their deals and VC specials.
Hand Over the Hero
Browsing, my first and only shopping stop landed me in the world of Hand Over the Hero by artist, thetonus. Famous for their superhero designs with a person in the background handing a character over as though they’re a doll, the tonus had some great deals for the average spender. One of his famous images was the exclusive John Wick image with the sticker as an added accessory. Overjoyed, I wanted to purchase that first, but then I saw the fine print yet again:
“Sold Out”
WOW!!! Only a few hours into the con and the specialty merch was already flying off the shelves. Heartbroken, I decided to look at other prints and stickers to my liking; surely there was other stuff worth grabbing….and he didn’t disappoint me as I saw my two favorite characters:
Miles Morales and Vegeta
The Tonus didn’t disappoint my wallet at all.
(One of the issues when it comes to virtual shopping, however, is the lack of price haggling. Usually at a physical con, you can try to negotiate the price of certain merch. based on the amount you buy. With a VC, the prices are concrete, so you’re pretty much S.O.L.)
For my journey into Crunchyroll’s Black Creative Magic, my heart guided me to these great panels:
From the ‘D’: Cosplaying While Black
CWB Panelists: Strawberry.cosplay, Queen of the Succubi, and HeyR2A
Crunchyroll’s dedication to diversity and cosplay spoke volumes as I had the pleasure to listen to the Cosplay While Black (CWB) Panel. From the ‘D’ (Detroit, Michigan), 3 female cosplayers; Strawberry.cosplay, Queen of the Succubi, and HeyR2A spoke on the growing trends facing people of color in cosplay.
Before I even discuss these phenomenal women, I have to give respect to their hometown, The ‘D’; which is home to Big Sean, Eminem, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, BeBe Winans, the Mighty Proof and many others. This city of innovation is also the hometown of auto manufacturers General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler.
These women expressed how some photographers are prejudice among social groups, they discussed body imagery, blackface and other racialized issues affecting the craft of cosplay for people of color. Some notable discussions that really affected me was the way photographers chose their cosplayers and the issue of non-black fans dressing in Blackface to represent darker (mostly Black) anime characters.
With photographers, some of the issues affecting Black cosplayers was how the photographers preferred a more fairer skinned to lighter complexioned cosplayer to do free photography with rather than a ‘darker cosplayer’. Additionally, statements of ‘they’re harder to be photographed or edited’, and ‘its hard to white balance’ was also mentioned as well.
With Blackface, as the number of Black anime characters are increasing, the growing number of non-Black cosplayers wanting to resemble these characters is growing as well. While this is a considered a great achievement, the growing practice of Blackface for these characters ruins the glory of this accomplishment. Blackface, a practice that is deemed off-limits, disrespectful and irresponsible; the members of the panel described its practice in the best way possible:
‘NO….JUST DON’T DO IT’
“Even if you want to be exactly (3x), like 100%, like the character, it’s not necessary…. We can tell who you are without darkening the skin….I promise you….”
“Asking the audience right now, do you know who I’m cosplaying? And no, I’m not the same color as them, I’m Nero, from Black Clover [Secre]. Did I change my skin color? Nooooo…..I’m still the same. You don’t have to paint your skin to do that……you’re never going to be 100% accurate at the end of the day, and painting your skin color outside of R.O.Y.G.B.I.V.…….if you paint your skin outside of ROYGBIV, you’re being offensive to someone at the end of the day….There’s nothing you can say about that….”
As a result of this negativity, many Black cosplayers in the community are fighting back by highlighting each other’s achievements on various social media channels and in person. As these racial trolls are making attempts to ruin the progress of Black cosplay, these cosplayers are just a few who are fighting them using the power of love and responsibility.
Detroit, Michigan, aside from being the city of innovation and creativity, is also, to me, the city of leadership in the Black cosplay community. Respect to these artists for their endeavors, passion and hard work.
D’ART Shtaijo
The legendary ‘Black Owned’ anime studio company in Japan, D’Art Shtajio, also appeared at Crunchyroll as they discussed with Tokyo-based writer, journalist, scholar and authority on Japanese and western culture, Roland Kelts, about the stereotyping of African Americans and whitewashing in manga and anime. Arthell Isom, the company’s creator/owner/legend discussed with Roland about the disparities Black characters have in anime and manga as well.
Ghost in the Shell: Scarlett Johansson
The perception of racism, as it seems, vary, based on location. For the west (America), many still view anime characters as ‘white’ (based on their creation times), but, as Roland states, the east (Asia) still view them [manga characters] as ‘Asian’. For example, in discussing whitewashing in anime and the infamous live action movie, Ghost in the Shell, Roland mentioned that while the west frowned on its representation of the movie’s Asian protagonist as a white woman, the east was actually excited that Scarlett Johansson was going to be in it, with the end result leading to positive financial numbers in that region.
For African-Americans, no matter the form of media (including anime), African Americans and imagery have always been at odds with each other as the west’s vision and version of African Americans is laced with stereotypical depictions of laziness, servant-like imagery, violence, overemphasized physical characteristics, etc. As the panel progressed, Roland expressed that while Asian animators created these images (based on western imagery), they are also learning from their mistakes by learning more about 'the culture'.
Afro Samurai anyone?!
For Arthell Isom however and his studio, D'Art Shtajio, they are headlining this effort by creating anime that best represents ‘the culture’ for the present and future. As Asian animators are learning about ‘the culture’, D’ART Shtajio, already has the advantage as they are ‘finessing’ its representation, by creating content that best represent us in all our forms and glory.
A panel discussion on the 'misconceptions' of African-American characters, whitewashing anime', and the future of 'Blackness' in the Anime Industry.
The Power of Black Girl Magic in Anime Fandom
Black Girl Magic was in full effect as this panel discussed anime, entrepreneurship and the handling of gatekeepers and haters in the realm of anime and manga. Moderated by the lovely Destiny Bakiriddin, host of the Getting Animated Podcast and Social Media Creator for Crunchyroll. She spoke with fellow creatives about how they handled these issues affecting their anime ecosystems and the love of the genre itself. The line-up consisted of:
Jacque Aye – CEO of Adorned By Chi
Kiera Please – Musician, Content Creator and Cosplayer
Siobhan Sullivan – Global Social Media Senior Manager for Crunchyroll
Victoria L. Johnson - Pop Culture Journalist, Host of the Sailor Moon Fan Club
Imani Blessitt - Co- Host of Lan Party Podcast, Creator of Geek Gamer Night
In finding their voices in the anime and manga sphere, some found it through consumerism, by accident, creativity and investigation. Jacque Aye, CEO of Adorned by Chi, found her anime calling through the consumers:
Jacque Aye
“..I found my community through my customers (laughs), I started making “Nerdy Shirts” and people found them [bought them] and we kind of built a community from there, especially in the Facebook group that we had…and now on Instagram….and I’m so grateful for that because, I was like… ‘Do Black Girls even like anime?….We do (laughs).”
Jacque Aye’s fashion collection, Adorned by Chi, is famous on social media and is, ‘Adorned’ by all. I took the opportunity to glance through her fashion line and I was floored by the art designs. PRO BLACK, NERDY, COLORFUL and full of AESTHETICS. I also managed to look at her manga of the same name, Adorned by Chi. The manga pertains to the story of Adaeze, a Nigerian college student with Goddess-like powers who leads a team of young warriors to defeat monstrosities that threaten to destroy humanity. With cultural references to Africa, I read it and loved it.
As the panel transitioned to ‘Gatekeeping and Trolls’, I respected how they each dealt with them. As some went full Goblin Slayer, others chose a different path and simply ignored them. For gatekeepers, they all unanimously agreed that their goal was to disrupt their ecosystems; to act like little annoying ants designed to dismantle the universes these women created.
For example, The Lan Podcast, which was on Discord, was awesome as I had the privilege of watching the Netflix series, KakeGurui with Imani and her crew. Although I was late in joining to watch the series, Imani’s universe was filled with POSITIVITY AND BLERD ENERGY in all its forms as attendees talked and discussed the show.
I wish I could discuss everyone here as they all provided positive contributions to the panel. What I can say is that these phenomenal women have seen the good, the bad and the ugly side of anime networking and while they experienced some serious battles, they certainly emerged victorious as they are winning the war against the negativity.
A salute to these wonderful women for their hard work and continued support to anime and manga.
Crunchyroll’s Black Creative Magic
Cruncyroll’s VR EXPO’s focus on diversity highlighted the dedication the company has for their Black and Brown fans. As each of the panels showed their love for anime and manga, they also highlighted their experiences being Black in this genre. Aside from the high points of their experiences, they also discussed their lows, with tales of demonization (to a degree), gatekeeping, prejudice, and stereotyping. Despite it all, they persisted in their craft and as a result, they are successfully changing opinions, abolishing stereotypes, and growing their ecosystems, all for the love of the genre.
These creatives, these innovators, are ensuring that the future love of anime and manga by people of color continues to be a non-stop, positive, love affair, absent of discrimination and hate.
Crunchyroll has once again opened my eyes to the world of anime and manga, but it also did something a little better, it allowed me to see people who understand the world I live in and has allowed me to be comfortable with the love I have for anime and manga, without discrimination.
THANK YOU for the Great VR Experience!!!
