Ask John: Are African Americans Anime Fans?

Question:
I’m an African American and there are few of us in the anime mainstream. There is me and 3 of my friends that actually know what Bleach or Onegai Teacher is. Seriously, I am bound by the notion that my race doesn’t branch out and experience the Japanese culture. One day I was reading Newtype and I saw something called a hip hop manga. Is this African Americans excepting anime or is this a joke?

Answer:
I honestly don’t know why interest in anime among Americans seems to be isolated primarily within the white and Asian communities. While I know that there are black and Hispanic American anime fans, they seem to be a minority in the United States, especially within the hardcore fan community. I don’t wish to seem racist, so I hope it’s taken objectively when I say that serious anime fandom is generally contained within middle and upper income homes. Although it can be, generally anime is not an inexpensive hobby. Furthermore, I think that American culture engenders a sense of cultural isolationism and nationalism. Because America is a large country that does not share a lot of co-operation or exchange between itself and its northern and southern neighbor countries. I think that America’s traditional imperialistic attitude prevents Americans from being as globally and culturally conscious as citizens from many other countries worldwide are. America’s partially blinding sense of national pride and individuality, I think, also encourages American ethnic communities to contain and isolate. I don’t want to suggest that African Americans aren’t interested in foreign culture, but you yourself mention, “I am bound by the notion that my race doesn’t branch out and experience Japanese culture.” There are noteworthy African American anime fans; for example, Manga Entertainment’s Keith Burgess, Galaxy Anime’s Basil Powell, and Digital Manga’s Isaac “Aka-san” Lew. But there do seem to be a smaller number of African American anime fans than may be expected.

Ironically, although anime culture hasn’t permeated African American culture, America’s black urban culture has crept into Japanese society. Rap, hip-hop, and American R&B music have appeared in Japanese incarnations through musicians including Dragon Ash, Da Pump, Rip Slyme, Heartsdales, Soul’d Out, and M-Flo. American tourists in Shibuya can sometimes catch a glimpse of Japanese teens dressed in American hip-hop styles such as oversized, baggy pants. And American black culture has crept into anime and manga. Samurai Champloo is filled with American style urban soul and DJ scratching, and Jin’s fighting style is very reminiscent of contemporary break dancing. The hip-hop manga you read about was probably Santa Inoue’s Tokyo Tribes, which is possibly the closest a Japanese manga has ever come to a Japanese version of African American urban youth culture. While there are African American anime fans, in fact, I think that it’s actually Japanese culture that’s importing American black culture faster than America’s black community delving into Japanese culture.