TT. My Notes from Black Otaku: Relationship Between Two Cultures

Last year at Tekko, I was lucky to check out this panel for Black fandom. "Black Otaku: Relationship Between Two Cultures." Here are some of the notes I took during its presentation.

Past

• Yasuke: a legend, but real
• Portuguese sailors traveled w/ Africans to Japan, for trade
• African people remained in Japan in the Edo period (when Japan was isolated)
• solidarity in the social struggle

Present

• culture, exposure shifting from Entertainment Only to Real Life
• more opportunities for collaboration
• leaning toward appreciation than appropriation

Future

• more travel, experience, exposure due to the shift (re: exposure)
• more manga, anime FUBU
• Our Hopes for the Future
  • variety of representation (Black people are not a monolith)
  • creative collabs
  • Black Hair varieties

The Positives

• Geeking out
• sharing excitement
• bonding over stuff
• our own flair and jokes
• Support and Solidarity
  • for us
  • intercultural
• Black Joy

Being an Otaku

• otaku friends/peers (nice to not be "othered")
• creating (fanfic)
• expressive, self-expression

The Negatives

• Racism
• Gatekeeping
• Double-standards: genderswap is okay but not "blackwashing"
• Prevalent misconceptions:
  • Japanese people don't like Black people (again, not a monolith)
  • geek/nerd stuff is "white people stuff" (see: oreo)
• Information Censorship
  • social media and news censors make us harder to see each other's cultures
  • authentic lived experiences are important to witness
  • censorship limits humanizing, world building
  • real person = real backstory

Representation

• Fanart
• Black Art
• Black OCs and MCs
• Headcanons / "Black-coded"
  • Sonic the Hedgehog is Black idc who voices him these days
  • Piccolo Is Black

Bad Representation: "that fucking face"

• Our USA History influences our interactions
• USA History + representational art style/design = Yo, Is This Racist!?
• Unfortunate Implications
• stereotypes and tropes (ie Magical Negro)
• prime example: Mr. Popo from Dragonball

Good Representation

• small details (ex. palms a different color from hand)
• good character design
• good storytelling
• some character examples
  • Claudia LaSalle, obvious afro-textured hair
  • Afro Samurai
  • Avdol (JJBA)
  • Canary (HxH)

Cosplay

• "the real will appreciate"
• characters you ID with
• make it your own
• make it yourself
• find inspiration
• craft
• take lessons
• mash ups– combine fandoms, ideas, aesthetics
• doesn't need to be fancy, can be as casual as you need
• just do it! we <3 effort

Recommendations

• Michiko to Hatchin (Afro Latina)
• BlerdCon!
• Afro Samurai is a given
• as well as Yasuke