Though anime is primarily made in Japan, it’s something that is celebrated worldwide with growing audiences from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds..We look to find ourselves represented in media we love, and some of our favorite anime and movies acknowledge this. In the Cowboy Bebop art book The Jazz Messengers, Cowboy Bebop creator Shinchiro Watanabe said when developing the anime, he “paid a lot of attention to skin color. Also to using multiple languages.”
One of my favorite episodes of Cowboy Bebop is Stray Dog Strut, where Spike is chasing down the character Abdul Hakim, who was actually modeled after NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. As a kid I also just thought he was cool because his name was very close to my own. Then I found out later on after some research that my name is a modern transcription of Hakim — so cool.
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Throughout Watanabe’s works is a wealth of culturally and racially diverse characters, and with the help of anime pioneers like him, we see that more and more in modern anime. And so in honor of Black History Month, here’s a list of our favorite black anime characters.
Killer Bee – Naruto Shippuden
The rapping Killer B’s rhymes were kind of whack, but his skills as the jinchū-riki of the Eight-Tails were pretty fresh. Killer B’s story is one of overcoming adversity, at least in his early years. He was shunned by the villagers in his hometown and used rapping almost as a coping mechanism to maintain a positive demeanor through it all. Now I won’t give you a long history on rap music, but essentially it’s a genre of music created and popularized by inner-city Blacks in the Bronx of New York City in the 70s’. That’s a long way away from Killer B, but it had a cultural impact on his story. Killer B is a character who was forced to become a hero in order to protect those around him even though they treated him terribly.
What makes Killer B so admirable is he’s not only powerful but also proud of who he is. His origin story of overcoming prejudice can be considered an allegory to those we might face in our very own society. And possibly how to deal with it, with a smile and a song in our hearts, knowing that if we stay the course we’ll overcome it.
Muhammed Avdol – Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s influence in anime cannot be denied, and Stardust Crusaders is arguably one of the best story arcs in the series that stars everyone’s favorite Jojo, Jotaro Kujo (don’t @ me, you know it’s true). Stardust Crusaders also gave us the powerful Stand user Muhammad Avdol. Avdol is one of the more experienced and strategic Stand users, and often times errs on the side of caution during the group’s travels.
Avdol is wise and dignified and his arcane knowledge makes him a valuable member in the hunt for the great antagonist, Dio. In an anime series full of unique characters, it’s awesome to see a person of color represented in such a bizarre world. Avdol was the epitome of badass, and his Stand Magician’s Red was fire. Yes, literally, fire.
Rock Lock (Ken Takagi) – My Hero Academia
Rock Lock (Ken Takagi) was introduced to us in Season 4 of My Hero Academia, and when I saw Rock Lock sitting there at that table with the rest of the pro heroes I was super excited. It’s really cool seeing some representation in such a popular anime series. I was especially happy to hear voice actor Gabriel Kunda playing Rock Lock in the dub. He’s a very talented actor and a welcomed addition to the diverse cast on My Hero Academia.
Rock Lock’s quirk, or power, is also pretty awesome. It allows him to immobilize inanimate objects, freezing them in a fixed location regardless of gravity’s rules. While he may not have a large role in the sea of superheroes in MHA, he’s valued, and his presence speaks to the ever-growing diversity we see in anime.
Jet Black – Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop is one of my all-time favorite anime shows, and it’s one of IGN’s too. It was on this very show that we were introduced to the leader of the bounty-hunting crew aboard the Bebop, Jet Black. Jet is pretty much everything you’d want in a space captain: he’s wise, and he’s always giving good advice. Not to mention he’s a great ally to have in a dog-out fight. You might even classify him under a fatherly role amongst his crew, despite how much he’d hate being considered as such. Some of my favorite scenes are his interactions with Spike. Though the two would often fight, there was always a genuine love between the two characters.
Jet’s taste in music was eclectic. He was a lover of jazz and blues, music that originated in the Deep South and bares roots in African spiritual musical traditions. It was such a nice added touch to further layer the complexity of his character. Voiced by the great Beau Billingslea, the narrator from Outlaw Star (another awesome action anime that takes place in space), Jet is undeniably the essence of cool and class.
Afro – Afro Samurai
Created by Takashi Okazaki, the hip hop and soul influences of Afro Samurai can be seen throughout the pages of its manga, and the anime was no different. One of the many things that make Afro Samurai unique was the reverse-engineering process which brought the anime into existence. Typically, anime is made in Japan then we receive it here stateside subbed or dubbed, sometimes both. Afro Samurai was actually made in Japan for a North American audience. They didn’t even touch the VO when they eventually subbed it for Japan — a smart move considering its all-star cast. Lucy Liu and Ron Pearlman were the villains and Samuel L. Jackson, who by the way was the Afro Samurai, Afro, and his alter ego/psyche Ninja Ninja.
Hearing Samuel L. Jackson’s iconic voice as Ninja Ninja was a trip and really brought the whole story to life given the juxtaposition of Afro’s quiet demeanor and Ninja Ninja’s loud, frenetic energy being that little bug in Afro’s ear. Not to mention Wu-Tang’s RZA scored the series, giving it a nice hip-hop flare. With all these elements infused into one anime series, Afro Samurai had the right amount of cachet to cement its place as one of the most culturally and racially diverse anime series to date.
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There are many more great black anime characters in anime, like Bob Makihara from Tenjou Tenge, Canary from Hunter Hunter, Carole from Carole and Tuesday, and Miyuki Ayukawa from Basquash. The inclusion of these and many other culturally and racially diverse characters bring representation to the forefront in anime.
No matter your race, background or gender, surely there’s an anime character that you identify with — let us know who that is in the comments down below, and for more anime we love, be sure to check out our My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising review.
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Akeem Lawanson is a video host/producer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter at @geekheavy.
Source: IGN.com 5 Notable Black Characters in Anime History