California-based animation artist Valencia Spates loves manga and anime. Her collection is an extensive one, beyond counting. She only purchases hard copies and refuses to read anything online. Her choice of genre runs more towards action and diverse characters so when she picked up Golosseum Vol. 1 by Yasushi Baba from her local comic book store, she was prepared to enjoy an action-filled, L.A.-featured manga. What she did not expect was an onslaught of racist diatribe from the supposed hero and the happy beheading of black gangsters.
“The first chapter was straight up racist,” she says, “and it only gets worse from there.”
The L.A. scenes open with the main black characters being portrayed as exaggerated, stereotypical gangsters killing cops in exaggerated, stereotypical fashion. The hero steps in to the save the day; the hero being a racist, blonde, blue-eyed, Hulk Hogan-type named Axe Bowgun. He swoops in lopping off heads left and right – black heads. It’s all in good fun, of course, nothing symbolic about that.
As if that wasn't insulting enough, Axe Bowgun continuously spouts racist garbage as if it is supposed to be hilarious. Fortunately, Spates is not the only manga-lover disappointed by the volume.
Ken Haley, a frequent manga reviewer, also points out the problematic material in his review of Golosseum. “The scene in which Axe Bowgun, a Hulk Hogan stand-in, literally clotheslines the heads off of rioting, black, gang members is difficult not to read into.”
He notes that many readers might dismiss the scene as a melodramatic exaggeration in line with the tone of the volume but given that Axe Bowgun was deployed by Billary Quintone, he feels otherwise. “The sequence recalls both the real Hulkster’s unfortunate racial epitaphs and Clinton’s unfortunate comments about super predators in our inner cities, and you’re forced to reconsider that knee-jerk dismissal.”
Problematic material in manga and anime is nothing new. Overall, there is an underlying anti-black sentiment that runs through the industry in line with the general underlying anti-black sentiment running through the world. Its homogeneous, insular atmosphere does little to help, however, that is still not an excuse.
“Japan is well advanced in research, resources, and technology. They have all the opportunities to learn more and do better,” Spates says, “This problematic stuff shouldn’t be happening. Manga and anime are now much more mainstream. They have a responsibility to their audience.”
Luckily, there are other artists who’ve gone out their way to portray black characters authentically, including one of Spates’ favorites, Akira Hiramoto. In preparation for his manga series, Me and the Devil Blues, Hiramoto did extensive research and even made a special trip to America to make the biography of Robert Johnson as historically accurate as possible.
“He loved jazz and blues and wanted to do the story justice, though he still only scratched the surface of the black experience,” Spates says.
Addressing racism in the manga is a complicated issue. Part of the problem, yet one of the most defining and important features of the industry, is that it is homogeneously Japanese. Very few non-Japanese artists – most especially black artists – can break into the industry.
However, more black writers and editors or at the very least, hiring sensitivity readers would definitely help the industry circumvent a lot of racist pitfalls. Spates points to the eight-tailed fox, Killer Bee, in Naruto who is a rapper with braids. “Perhaps he could have been a nuanced character if they’d had a black writer and his lyrics wouldn’t be so lame.”
Boruto, a spin-off from Naruto, also features a black girl name Cho Cho who is often the butt of many jokes because of her size. On the other hand, compared to many other anime shows, Naruto is relatively diverse.
These problematic characters often go unnoticed and without public outcry, manga creators are free to continue the trend. “More people need to speak up when they see blatant, racist garbage and even when it’s subtle,” Spates says.
Another very simple step creators can take is to follow Hiramoto’s example and do the research. Not just through the lens of white American media, but by looking at other black writers and artists for authentic representation.
While Spates hopes for change in the industry, just like the rest of the world, it may be slow to come. “It’s one step forward, one step back,” she says.
