This Is Why Black People LOVE Anime So Much

Black people love anime.

This is:

No question.
No secret.
No surprise.

And is without a doubt no matter WHERE each black anime fan may come from (Africa, Caribbean, West, etc).

But the question is why do black people love anime so much? What’s the reasoning?

Why is there such an affinity for anime for the black community in general?

Let’s talk about it.

1. Identify

Dragon Ball Z would be the perfect example for a lot of black anime fans.

When we saw characters like

Goku
and eventually Vegeta

not to mention Piccolo the green Namekian, that changed everything.

Piccolo was always different compared to everyone else and many black people identified with his character.

The same is true for Goku and other Saiyans. They all experienced racism from Frieza’s colony, were colonized by the tyrant at the time, and were a warrior race trying their best to survive under Frieza’s rule.

Not to mention trying to fight back against it and in the case of the few remaining Saiyans, eventually winning and gaining back their freedom and becoming stronger in multiple ways as a result.

There is a lot of crossover here with black people from all walks of life, and it’s not just to do with black people within Western countries either.

2. Relatability

Goku in particular was always the one who people doubted early on to some degree, and throughout the series was the outcast of the group.

He never took that personally or even thought about it necessarily, but it was clear given Goku’s connection to the Saiyan race being revealed, and the fact he was always different and stood out from everyone else.

Every hurdle Goku came across he managed to overcome it, jump over it, crush it, and ultimately succeed in pushing past any challenges he faced. That includes challenges with people like Frieza, or any other threats.

Goku is relatable, and he’s not the only one that black people relate to.

Vegeta is another one many relate to, especially given his more extreme version of hardship when it comes to being a Saiyan, facing discrimination, and the tough choices and things he was forced into doing as a kid against his will.

It shaped him, reshaped him, and changed him on his deathbed. There’s a lot in Vegeta and characters like him to relate to (Piccolo as well) for black people who are fans of anime.

3. Unique taste

Black female fans in particular enjoyed anime like Sailor Moon because it represented something different from what Western media portrayed in its own entertainment.

Not that Sailor Moon in particular had any black characters, but anime never discriminated or excluded races of characters in their media but instead, included many which made certain shows so unique.

Bleach showed this in the 2000s alongside Naruto and much more.

This is partly why anime is unique in the first place, especially during the times of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. Black people always have a taste for unique things and are at the forefront of culture on a global scale.

So for outsiders who aren’t black, this should hardly be surprising as far as being interested in anime for its uniqueness.

4. It speaks to us

When you watch, listen, or read something that speaks directly to:

Who you are.
What you feel.
How you think.
What you relate to.

And what makes you tick, it’s a feeling many black anime fans can relate to and understand.

Again, Dragon Ball Z did this for many black male anime fans. For women, it was Sailor Moon, Nadia: Secrets Of The Blue Water, and Macross, but it goes beyond just gender since there are crossover interests.

5. A variety of cultures, races, and faces

Anime highlights characters of all races, faces, and cultures. True, in 2024 you see cliches like the typical blonde female character that anime can pander to at times, but generally speaking, you see all sorts of characters.

They’re not restricted to just Japanese or “Western” (the latter is seen in fantasy or Isekai).

Black Lagoon has all sorts of races.
Same with Full Metal Panic, Code Geass, Naruto, and even Bleach.
This stretches to Revolutionary Girl Utena.
There is also Samurai Champloo, Black Butler, Michiko To Hatchin, and Jormungand.

Compare this to Western TV, and the disparity and lack of variety are lacking. That’s because Western media is all about politics, ass-kissing, grandstanding, and appealing to outrage culture.

Very few times does Western media “truly” highlight variety unless it’s about filling a quota and people-pleasing.

6. A sense of belonging

Sometimes a person wants to watch something where they feel a sense of belonging, and anime can bring that with its expressive nature and creativity.

In the 1990s aside from ignorance or just a lack of variety, there weren’t too many shows where you could feel a sense of belonging within Western media. I can’t speak for other countries.

Anime on the other hand provided this for everyone regardless of where you were from or what you looked like.

That’s why it has a global appeal that people still deny today, especially in the West, which is ironic but stupid at this point.

When you start with politics before creativity and expression, you end up with what you see in Western media to a large degree, especially with companies like Disney and even Netflix to a degree.

But when you start with creativity, expression, and imagination, you end up with a product like anime that draws people to it, black people in this case, making it loved and appreciated by so many.

7. Persecution and camaraderie

Persecution is an easy one.

No matter where a black person travels in the world, you’re bound to come across some sort of discrimination from people since this is taught by many ignorant people in an unlimited amount of cultures.

Not everyone does this, but enough do.

This becomes a reason for some black people, not all, to be drawn to anime and to like it.

Morgiana from Magi: Kingdom Of Magic for this reason is a relatable character when it comes to persecution.

Her story is deliberately African-influenced but with details changed to make it “appropriate”, and it’s easy for black fans to identify with her character.

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Then there’s the camaraderie aspect of why black people love anime.

Shounen does this better than most. From My Hero Academia to Jujutsu Kaisen, and many more. Being comrades, having loyalty, being loyal to your group, supporting one another – these aspects are reasons camaraderie in anime is loved by black fans.