Anti-Blackness has always been an issue in the growing anime industry as a lot of black characters have been only meant for jokes.
Anti-Blackness is not an oppressive problem in the United States alone. It is almost everywhere around the world.
It is something that exists from the furthest corner of the globe. It is grained in many parts of the society we are in, especially in an industry we love the most.
Anti-Blackness appearing in anime
Anime is no longer a stranger to all these things. The industry has had a long history of repressing anti-Blackness issues for a long time now.
The very reason why this have formed is because of the early portrayal of Black people in America. American media representations of Black people have not always been a matter taken into a positive light and propagated misconstrued.
While some of the anime will show people in color, some audiences have complained that the character designs are reminiscent of racist caricatures. It only reduces the character to be the butt of a terrible, hateful joke.
It hurts when the industry you have spent all your time, effort, and money does not love your culture. It also hurts when creators and producers are propagating Black anime characters in such a disgustingly racist way.
One of the most glaring examples is Sister Krone from The Promised Neverland.
Sister Krone’s design is enunciated with racist indications towards the character. This is something that not a lot of people would like to hear but generally the truth.
Sadly, It is not a rare occurrence in recent anime
Sister Krone is not just a rare occurrence in recent anime. Other depictions of both anti-blackness and racist depictions can be found in Love Lab and Terraformers.
In Love Lab, there is a school-aged girl who turns to experiment with a black face because she wanted a new adventure in her life.
This is an endless list.
Additionally, anime has always had a special place in Black culture. It has inspired a lot of kids and find some reliability in characters plus themes.
The world now should create a proper standard and demand through which Black people are seen. Thankfully, some of the creators who have spent a lot of their time in production houses have produced renounced characters such as Shinichirō Watanabe.
Watanabe has produced famous anime such as Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Carole & Tuesday, and Space Dandy. Watanabe has always been known for making characters depicting the racially diverse world.
Image courtesy of Zeria/YouTube Screenshot