Fan of a Fan

By: Zeniya Cooley

If you look around campus, you might catch the blurred sight of One Piece illustrations on a speeding white vehicle. Or, a Black girl sauntering in Western Market in an Akatsuki robe.

Anime is in, which means a more public anime fandom. So many longtime fans have stories of being bullied for loving the Japanese art form. Fortunately, I didn’t experience the shame of liking something seen as strange. I did get raised eyebrows and scrunched noses from cousins as I watched Naruto with Japanese subtitles. But, I still enjoyed anime in peace.

Until two years ago, Naruto was the only anime that I seriously watched. But then, the pandemic hit, and I was homebound and nostalgic. On a whim, I streamed Netflix’s Yasuke, which featured LaKeith Stanfield as the star voice actor. Then, I stumbled upon RDCWorld, a group of Black and brown influencers and rowdy anime stans. Of course, Megan Thee Stallion’s anime fandom influenced my own. Here was a Hot Girl posting Pokémon stills on Instagram and conducting a kind of everyday cosplay. She showed that Black girl anime fandom was nuanced—not just indie or introverted Black girls crushing on cute emo characters. Her fandom was garish,glamorous, and high-fashion.

I know now that there are many ways to be an anime fan. You don’t have to read manga or watch the English subbed. Maybe you’ve only seen Demon Slayer and rocked a nice graphic tee. I myself have only watched a handful of shows— all of them Shonen—and a few Studio Ghibli bangers. But what matters more than the form of fandom is the fandom itself.

It’s okay to be a fan. And it’s okay to fan out in your own way.