Racebending, or drawing characters as races other than what they were intended as, is not new to fandom; however, this particular iteration was to counter the fact that the person took it upon themself to aggressively white out the existence of canonically Black and brown characters in anime.
Throughout its 100-year history, yuri has uniquely evolved in and moved about multiple markets, often existing in many simultaneously. It is by and for a variety of people: men, women, heterosexuals, queer people, everyone!
While manga artists have done a great service for international comics, we readers see an unsettling trend of writers and artists burning out.
In the 1990s, when this film debuted, Perfect Blue accurately predicted a hostile atmosphere in the entertainment industry for women. We can identify similarities between the #MeToo movement, both the Japanese and American pop industries, and Mima’s mind-breaking plight.
Black people love anime. This is an undeniable, non-negotiable, indisputable fact. One would think that Black people would have much more of a significant presence in Western anime communities and fandoms. But if you look on any black- or brown-skinned cosplayer’s Instagram posts, you will see loads of positive and encouraging comments, and also a slew of racist ones.
If you were to ask a layperson what an idol is, they’d likely think of the scandalous stories that come out of the industry. While these scandals shouldn’t be ignored, they often form the entirety of the discussion, ignoring idol content that doesn’t conform to such negative stereotypes and all the good that idols can do. To properly improve the industry, it’s just as important to promote the positive elements as it is to criticize the harmful ones.
As someone who works in a mental health-adjacent field, the Flying Colors Foundation’s approach to mental health in the anime fandom seemed not only misguided, but also irresponsible and potentially dangerous.
Hi everybody! My name’s Samantha. I’m a gawky, geeky trans girl who loves video games and anime. I had a different name up until a few days ago, but it’s dead now. Please be kind and don’t bring that up, ‘kay? I’m just Samantha now. Thank you!
While as a westerner it’s difficult to have a truly nuanced understanding of the cultural norms surrounding the term “otaku,” we can get an idea of how stereotypes and expectations have changed by looking at how otaku are portrayed in anime and manga, and how those portrayals have evolved over the years.
How do you react when you find out one of the main creative forces behind something you love is, to not mince words, a completely shit person?
John Leigh, a showrunner for Anime Matsuri—the second largest anime convention in North America—is digging up his own accusations by attempting to silence a vlogger who talked about them. It’s a bad look at any time, but especially during the #MeToo era. It’s also an unusual choice considering this scandal was all but forgotten.
Amelia, Lauren, and special guest Miranda Sanchez discuss freelance writing in the anime industry.
There’s no good reason not to pay every single interpreter for their work. There are, however, a couple of bad ones.
Referring to a person who dresses and passes as a woman as a “trap” is extremely dangerous. The idea that trans women are traps implies that they cause harm to (cis) men and women, which perpetuates the fear-mongering that allows society at large to defend people who murder trans women.
Over the past few years, josei manga has had a renaissance in the West as readers rediscover older titles and publishers release new ones. It’s a glorious turn of events for josei fans like myself and others, but it also begs a few questions. Namely, why is this happening now and not sooner?
Rei’s role as an object of straight male desire extends beyond examining Rei through the lens of feminist film theory to include Evangelion’s greater conversation with the psychological condition of the otaku audience.
There’s a nasty stereotype that anime fans and Nazis are closely related, as indicated by the number of virulent alt-right trolls with anime avatars you’ll find in any Twitter cesspool.
In episode 7, Yuri on Ice directly connected Victor to famous gay skater Johnny Weir. Meanwhile, members of the anime fandom are digging their heels in about whether Victor throwing himself lips first at Yuri was actually gay.
Discourse doesn’t have the best reputation in anime fandom.
