Anime, Cosplay and the Black Geekdom

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Black geekdom and blerds

Geek typically means someone who is into technical (computers) things, and a nerd is into academics (books). Both terms were used as insults but have since evolved into becoming more positive as the communities have reclaimed them. The term “geekdom” refers to the state of being a geek while the term “blerd” is a mix of the words Black and nerd. The meanings have become so similar that people have identified as both. The Black geekdom and blerd refer to Black people who have an interest in things like comics, anime and animation among many other things.

Blerds began gaining recognition with characters like Geordi La Forge from Star Trek and Steve Urkel in Family Matters. La Forge represented blerds in the sci-fi demographic while Urkel was more of an everyday type of nerd.

I want to explore how the Black geekdom and blerds expanded their interests to include Japanese media. To do that, we have to start in the past and come to the present.

History and influence of East Asian media

Although Japan had been creating animated shows for years, the cartoon style began to shift in the 1960s. Artist Osamu Tezuka (Japanese: Tezuka Osamu) is seen as the forerunner of modern day Japanese animation. He has been called the father of manga (comic books) and godfather of anime (a loanword from “animation”). His hit show Tetsuwan Atomu (English: Astro Boy) helped to raise anime’s popularity both inside and outside of Japan.

Western interest in anime

Tezuka’s Astro Boy was played in the United States on NBC in 1963. The years that followed showed the U.S. working with Japan to release cartoons and anime. The 80s and 90s saw a boom in both anime and manga in the U.S.

While it was easy for some people to watch anime through the networks on TV, others had to go the piracy route. Piracy created a subgenre of American anime fans called “fansub”. The term is a mix of the words fan and subtitle as fans would normally record anime episodes and add subtitles. The first anime group in the U.S., Cartoon/Fantasy Organization (sci-fi convention attendees), began exchanging recorded anime with one another. Later, fans would use VHS tapes to exchange recorded anime. It was expensive for a buyer, but it was worth it to them. These days, Western anime fans are able to use streaming sites like Crunchyroll (that actually started as a piracy site) to watch their favourite shows.

History of conventions and cosplay

One form of outward interest in Japanese entertainment comes in the form of cosplay at conventions. To understand how it got to this, we have to see how conventions and cosplay became a thing.

Modern cosplay in America unofficially started in the early 1930s. Notably, the first World Science Fiction Convention (now Worldcon) saw two attendees wearing futuristic costumes. The attendees, Myrtle R. Douglas and her then-partner Forrest J. Ackerman, have been honoured as the mother and father of convention costuming, respectively. The year after they dressed up, the con had a costume competition. This became tradition at other cons.

Convention costuming is now known as cosplaying–a loanword from Japanese meaning costume play. As manga and anime become more popular in the west, cosplayers’ outfits have more inspiration. Cosplayers often go as their favourite character in a manga/anime or as a popular anime character. They go to comic-cons (comics/comic book conventions) quite often and are a large part of competitions.

Blerd representation at cons in cosplay

For years, a lot of cons have had more white attendees than any other group. In recent years, there has been an increase in Black cosplayers (blerds) at these events. This could be because of the rise in Black representation in comics/manga and cartoons/anime. Even though Black cosplayers could have been any character, every community likes to see someone who looks like them. More Black characters equal more options for Black cosplayers.

We cannot underestimate the role that TikTok and other social media have had in increasing blerds’ interests in anime, cosplay and animation. Being able to see that you have a community within your specific interests is empowering. We see celebrities like award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion cosplaying. She also has shown how much interest she has in anime. We see Black YouTubers like RDCWorld1 and CalebCity create successful videos around their interests in anime. This success helped RDCWorld to create their own convention (Dream Con) that welcomes a diverse community. Megan Thee Stallion even attended Dream Con and her liquor company was a sponsor of the event.

“She gon’ be Black today”

It’s important to address some of the racism that Black cosplayers experience. Many Black cosplayers have been told that they shouldn’t cosplay anyone who isn’t Black. This is hard to do, especially in the anime space. Many of the characters aren’t Black or they are drawn to portray negative stereotypes of Black people. Also, you don’t have to be the same colour as a character to portray them.

TikTok has given creators/cosplayers a space to address this. Creator Afrococopuffs made a viral sound: “Hinata isn’t Black, Hinata isn’t Black, she gon’ be Black today.” She is highlighting how a Black cosplayer can dress as a non-Black character (Hinata is a character from Naruto). There are still some hurdles that Black cosplayers have to cross, but many feel that change has been developing over time.

More descriptors and blerds

Some other terms to consider: weeaboo/weeb and otaku. Weeaboo/weeb started as an insult for those who were overly obsessed with Japan and its culture. While it is still defined that way, many people use it in a positive way.

The Japanese loanword “otaku” started as a negative term in Japan. However, its meaning in the West has come to be used in place of geek and nerd for people who indulge in Japanese media. There are still concerns around how extreme otaku behaviours can get.

An example of the reclamation of these two words is Megan Thee Stallion’s popular song ”Otaku Hot Girl”. The title already describes the rapper as an otaku and one line in the song describes her as a weeb.

Notable blerds

Black American artist Arthell Isom (and his twin brother Darnell) created the anime studio D’art Shtajio in Tokyo, Japan. Isom found inspiration in the Japanese animated movie Ghost in the Shell. He liked its art (and art director) so much that he moved to Japan right after college.

Since then, his studio has worked on some popular anime. It also created a music video for “Snowchild” by Torontonian singer The Weeknd. Isom has said that he understands the importance of representation in the media. This shows in the work that he and his studio has done.

It’s always good when a positive community can exist without being bullied or forced to hide. The Black geekdom and blerds are now able to express who they are and have support.