Characters of color

In last week’s post on the themes and motifs of Yuri!!! on ICE director Sayo Yamamoto, a commenter rightly pointed out:

I feel like it might be more clear to emphasize that Michiko & Hatchin‘s cast is composed of Black, Latino, and diasporic people, rather than just people of color broadly? Anime with 100% Japanese (and thereby 100% not white) casts is pretty commonplace, and Michiko & Hatchin is remarkable re: racial representation primarily for its dark-skinned characters and Japanese character(s?) in an international setting.

Excellent point! With this in mind, and in light of the weekend’s events in the US and resulting activism, let’s talk about black and brown characters in anime and manga – bonus points for examples of positive Muslim representation!

• What is your favourite representation of black and/or brown characters in Japanese pop culture?
• If you are black or brown yourself, which black or brown character do you most identify with in Japanese pop culture?
• Which representation of black or brown people in Japanese pop culture do you think is most problematic?
• Which Japanese pop culture text do you feel does the best job at portraying racism?

Self-promotion on these posts is permitted and even encouraged, especially if you are analyzing anime, manga, Japanese pop culture or fandom from a marginalized perspective! Please only include one link per post, but you can put up a different link every Monday if you like.

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